ETYM Latin ruminans, -antis, p. pr.: cf. French ruminant. Related to Ruminate.
Related to or characteristic of animals of the suborder Ruminantia or any other animal that chews a cud.

Any of various cud-chewing hoofed mammals having a stomach divided into four (occasionally three) compartments.
Any even-toed hoofed mammal with a rumen, the “first stomach” of its complex digestive system. Plant food is stored and fermented before being brought back to the mouth for chewing (chewing the cud) and then is swallowed to the next stomach. Ruminants include cattle, antelopes, goats, deer, and giraffes, all with a four-chambered stomach. Camels are also ruminants, but they have a three-chambered stomach.