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Sheep

//ʃiːp// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis. countable

    "There is much sad evidence, too, of the spoliation and dereliction of vanished industry: tips, slag-heaps and derelict colliery-screens among which the ubiquitous, nomad mountain sheep graze unconcernedly."

  2. 2
    plural of shoop form-of, humorous, plural
  3. 3
    woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat wordnet
  4. 4
    A member of the domestic species Ovis aries, the most well-known species of Ovis. countable
  5. 5
    a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    A timid, shy person who is easily led by others. countable
  2. 7
    a timid defenseless simpleton who is readily preyed upon wordnet
  3. 8
    A religious adherent, a member of a congregation or religious community (compare flock). countable, plural

    "1990, Dave Mustaine, "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due", Megadeth, Rust in Peace. And fools like me, who cross the sea and come to foreign lands / Ask the sheep, for their beliefs do you kill on God's command?"

  4. 9
    Sheepskin leather. uncountable
  5. 10
    A person who is easily understood by a speech recognition system; contrasted with goat. countable

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English schep, schepe, from Anglian Old English sċēp (West Saxon sċēap), from Proto-West Germanic *skāp, from Proto-Germanic *skēpą, of unknown origin. Perhaps from the same Scythian word (compare Ossetian цӕу (cæw, “goat”), Persian چپش (čapiš, “yearling goat”)) which was borrowed into Albanian as cjap, sqap (“buck”) and into Slavic (compare Polish cap). After Kroonen, *skēpą is instead from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scratch”) via Kluge's law. Cognates Cognate with Scots sheep (“sheep”), Yola sheep, zheep (“sheep”), North Frisian schep, schäip, Sjip (“sheep”), Saterland Frisian Schäip, Skäip (“sheep”), West Frisian skiep (“sheep”), Alemannic German Schaf, Schooff (“sheep”), Bavarian Schof, Schouf, Schåf (“sheep”), Dutch schaap (“sheep”), German Schaf (“sheep”), German Low German Schaap (“sheep”), Limburgish Schoëp, sjaop (“sheep”), Luxembourgish Schof (“sheep”), Vilamovian siöf (“sheep”), Yiddish שאָף (shof, “sheep”).

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