Sheep

Pronunciation

• RP enPR: shÄ“p, IPA: /ʃiːp/
• Rhymes: -iːp

Origin

From Middle English sheep, scheep, schep, schepe, from Old English scēap, from Proto-Germanic *skēpą (compare West Frisian skiep, North Frisian schäip (in the Fering-Öömrang dialect, sjep; in the Sölring dialect, sjip; in the Heligoland dialect, skeap), Dutch schaap, German Schaf), beside *keppôn (compare Old Norse kjappi ("he-goat"), dialectal German Kippe ("newborn calf")), of unknown origin. Perhaps from the same Scythian word (compare Ossetian цӕу ("goat"), Persian چپش (čapiš, "yearling goat"))

Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, s.vv. "*keppōn", "*skēpan" (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 213, 340

which was borrowed into Albanian as cjap, sqap ("he-goat") and into Slavic (compare Polish cap).

Full definition of sheep

Noun

1. A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis.
2. A timid, shy person who is easily led by others.
3. (chiefly humorous) Plural of shoop

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• Abenaki: azib from "(a) sheep"

Anagrams

• Ephes.
• HEPES