Definition of SHEEP

sheep

Meanings

Plural: sheep, sheeps

Noun

  • woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
  • a timid defenseless simpleton who is readily preyed upon
  • a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision
    • "his students followed him like sheep"
  • A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis.
  • A member of the domestic species Ovis aries, the most well-known species of Ovis.
  • A timid, shy person who is easily led by others.
  • A religious adherent, a member of a congregation or religious community (compare flock).
  • Sheepskin leather.
  • A person who is easily understood by a speech recognition system; contrasted with goat.
  • plural of shoop

Origin / 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.
See also West Frisian skiep, North Frisian schäip, Dutch schaap, German Schaf), beside Proto-Germanic *keppô (compare Old Norse kjappi (“buck”), dialectal German Kippe (“newborn calf”)).

Synonyms

introvert, lamb, mouse, ovine, Ovis, recluse, sheep, shrinking violet, shybie, wallflower

Scrabble Score: 10

sheep is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
sheep is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sheep is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

sheep is a valid Words With Friends word