Sheep
/ʃiːp/noun
A woolly domesticated ruminant animal kept for meat, milk, and wool.
Did you know?“Sheep” is one of those deeply old Germanic words that stayed almost unchanged for centuries, showing how central these animals were to early farming life.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skēi-
“To cut, split, or separate”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skēpą
“Sheep, livestock”
Old English
English
scēap
“Sheep”
Middle English
English
sheep
“Sheep”
Modern English
English
sheep
“A domesticated woolly ruminant”