Sheep-biter
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A sheepdog that worries (chases or attacks) sheep. obsolete
"What curre will not bawle, & be ready to flye on a mans face, when he is set on by his master, who, if hee bee not by to encourage him, he casts his taile betwixt his legges, & steales away like a sheepe byter."
- 2 A contemptible person, especially one who practices petty thefts. derogatory, figuratively, obsolete
"His gait, like a sheep-biter, fleering aside"
Example
More examples"What curre will not bawle, & be ready to flye on a mans face, when he is set on by his master, who, if hee bee not by to encourage him, he casts his taile betwixt his legges, & steales away like a sheepe byter."
Etymology
sheep + biter (“one who bites”). Figurative term possibly influenced by the fable "De cane oves domini sui occidente, a quo suspensus est" in Hecatomythium by Laurentius Abstemius (later included with Aesop's Fables as "A Sheep-Biter Hang'd" — see quotations).
Related phrases
More for "sheep-biter"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.