Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A domesticated ruminant mammal (Ovis aries) having a thick coat, raised in many breeds for its wool, edible flesh, or hide.
- noun Any of various wild ruminant mammals related to and resembling the domestic sheep, such as the aoudad, bighorn sheep, and mouflon.
- noun Leather made from the skin of one of these animals.
- noun A person regarded as timid, weak, or submissive.
- noun One who is easily swayed or led.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A shepherd.
- To pasture sheep upon; use as a sheep-range.
- noun A ruminant mammal of the family Bovidæ, subfamily Orinæ, and genus Ovis; specifically, Ovis aries, domesticated in many varieties, and one of the animals most useful to man.
- noun Leather made from sheepskin, especially split leather used in bookbinding.
- noun In contempt, a silly fellow.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of ruminants of the genus Ovis, native of the higher mountains of both hemispheres, but most numerous in Asia.
- noun A weak, bashful, silly fellow.
- noun Fig.: The people of God, as being under the government and protection of Christ, the great Shepherd.
- noun (Zoöl.) See
Bighorn . - noun (Zoöl.) See
Aoudad . - noun (Zoöl.) the larva of the sheep botfly. See
Estrus . - noun (Zoöl.) a shepherd dog, or collie.
- noun (Bot.) a small North American shrub (
Kalmia angustifolia ) with deep rose-colored flowers in corymbs. - noun (Bot.) an Australian plant (
Acæna ovina ) related to the burnet. The fruit is covered with barbed spines, by which it adheres to the wool of sheep. - noun an extensive tract of country where sheep range and graze.
- noun (Bot.) a cichoraceous herb (
Urospermum Dalechampii ) of Southern Europe; -- so called from the conspicuous pappus of the achenes. - noun (Bot.), a European herb (
Jasione montana ) having much the appearance of scabious. - noun (Med.) a contagious disease of sheep, characterixed by the development of vesicles or pocks upon the skin.
- noun (Bot.) Same as
Sheep's bit . - noun shears in which the blades form the two ends of a steel bow, by the elasticity of which they open as often as pressed together by the hand in cutting; -- so called because used to cut off the wool of sheep.
- noun (Bot.) a prerennial herb (
Rumex Acetosella ) growing naturally on poor, dry, gravelly soil. Its leaves have a pleasant acid taste like sorrel. - noun (Zoöl.) the highest grade of Florida commercial sponges (
Spongia equina , varietygossypina ). - noun (Zoöl.) a wingless parasitic insect (
Melophagus ovinus ) belonging to the Diptera. It fixes its proboscis in the skin of the sheep and sucks the blood, leaving a swelling. Called alsosheep pest , andsheep louse . - noun a pasture for sheep; a sheep run.
- noun (Zoöl.) See
Argali ,Mouflon , andOörial .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
woolly ruminant of the genusOvis . - noun A timid, shy person who is easily led by others.
- noun Plural form of
shoop .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
- noun a timid defenseless simpleton who is readily preyed upon
- noun a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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okay, this is completely unrelated, but you mentioned goat cheese and that made me think of sheep, and since you're in NZ, i've been wanting to ask if you've seen the movie _black sheep_--you know, since it's about man-eating genetically modified sheep roaming the NZ countryside. again, totally unrelated to your post.
If only they had money, they could be rich like us! StyleyGeek 2008
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How long must a sheep actually measure to come under the denomination of _a long sheep_? "
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 383, August 1, 1829 Various
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We came suddenly upon a flock of gigantic wild sheep, feeding on scanty tufts of dried sedge and grass; there were twenty-five of these enormous animals, of whose dimensions the term sheep gives no idea: they are very long-legged, stand as high as a calf, and have immense horns, so large that the fox is said to take up his abode in their hollows, when detached and bleaching, on the barren mountains of Tibet.
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Not only was this patently false, but it amounted to another insult: The word sheep in Russian is roughly equivalent to jackass.
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Not only was this patently false, but it amounted to another insult: The word sheep in Russian is roughly equivalent to jackass.
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They're the people Jesus was aiming for when He taught that the sheep is the MODEL for good human behavior.
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Tasering a sheep is a cheap and effective way of cooking it, considering the current cost of energy. on October 7, 2008 at 10: 18 am | Reply Retired Sgt
Whilst Rome Burns………… « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2008
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In the end, what gets you a sheep is your eyes and your legs, but your two most essential tools are your rifle and your binoculars.
An Alaskan Sheep and Grizzly Hunting Adventure by Philip Caputo 2004
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I suppose he was not a cow-dog, but what they call a sheep-dog.
The Complete Project Gutenberg Writings of Charles Dudley Warner Charles Dudley Warner 1864
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Christ's offering up himself for his sheep is another proof of his being a good shepherd, and in this he yet more commended his love, v. (a.)
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721
qroqqa commented on the word sheep
The only English animal name with zero plural that isn't some kind of hunt animal; also the only one that simply can't take a regular plural. (As always, this universals are subject to the fate of all linguistic universals, to be violated by hitherto unnoticed examples.)
February 20, 2009
cohenizzy commented on the word sheep
"Count sheep !" to go to sleep is probably the translation of a Hebrew pun S'PoR KeVeS on the Latin phrase *sopor* (sleep, as in soporific) *quies* (quietly, as in quiesent). This idiom now occurs in Israeli Hebrew as LiSPoR K'VaSim = to count sheep (plural).
June 16, 2009