Antonyms for sheep

Grammar : Noun

Spell : sheep

Phonetic Transcription : ʃip

Definition of sheep

Origin : ruminant mammal, Old English sceap, scep, from West Germanic *skæpan (cf. Old Saxon scap, Old Frisian skep, Middle Low German schap, Middle Dutch scaep, Dutch schaap, Old High German scaf, German Schaf), of unknown origin. Not found in Scandinavian (cf. Danish faar "sheep") or Gothic (which uses lamb), and with no known cognates outside Germanic. The more usual Indo-European word for the animal is represented in English by ewe.
The plural form was leveled with the singular in Old English, but Old Northumbrian had a plural scipo. Used since Old English as a type of timidity and figuratively of those under the guidance of God. The meaning "stupid, timid person" is attested from 1540s. The image of the wolf in sheep's clothing was in Old English (from Matt. vii:15); that of separating the sheep from the goats is from Matt. xxv:33. To count sheep in a bid to induce sleep is recorded from 1854 but seems not to have been commonly written about until 1870s. It might simply be a type of a tedious activity, but an account of shepherd life from Australia from 1849 ["Sidney's Emigrant's Journal"] describes the night-shepherd ("hut-keeper") taking a count of the sheep regularly at the end of his shift to protect against being answerable for any animals later lost or killed.
Sheep's eyes "loving looks" is attested from 1520s (cf. West Frisian skiepseach, Dutch schaapsoog, German Schafsauge). A sheep-biter was "a dog that worries sheep" (1540s); "a mutton-monger" (1590s); and "a whore-monger" (1610s, i.e. one who "chases mutton"); hence Shakespeare's sheep-biting "thieving, sneaky."

As in stock : noun animals raised on a farm
As in yes man : noun someone following orders without question
As in bellwether : noun leader
As in cloud : noun mass of water particles in air
As in conformist : noun person in agreement

Example sentences :

I have in mind one old chap who used to herd the sheep on my uncle's farm.
Extract from : « Ballads of a Bohemian » by Robert W. Service

What sheep he did not kill for the use of his men, he ordered to be bayoneted.
Extract from : « A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis Marion » by William Dobein James

The first picture that attracted our admiration was a "Sheep scene," by Lambdin.
Extract from : « Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 14, 1870 » by Various

Wolves or watch-dogs, it was hard to say from which the sheep had most to fear.
Extract from : « The White Company » by Arthur Conan Doyle

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Extract from : « An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism » by Joseph Stump

All the sales of sheep and lambs are by the "clad score" which contains twenty-one.
Extract from : « Camps, Quarters and Casual Places » by Archibald Forbes

He has at least 30,000 sheep on his vast tracks of moorland on the braes of Lochaber.
Extract from : « Camps, Quarters and Casual Places » by Archibald Forbes

The sheep were to be washed and sheared, too, and the awkward, weak-kneed calves to be fed.
Extract from : « In the Valley » by Harold Frederic

But let us return to our sheep—which means the sea-lions of the Cliff House.
Extract from : « American Notes » by Rudyard Kipling

There's no sense to it, any way,—sixteen sheep stood him in two dollars apiece.
Extract from : « Tip Lewis and His Lamp » by Pansy

Synonyms for sheep

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019