# sheep

Pronunciation: say "SHEEP" US /ʃip/, UK /ʃiːp/

## Noun

1. A woolly, cud-chewing mammal kept in flocks for its wool, meat, and milk; also a related wild species.
   - Simple: A woolly animal kept on farms for its wool, meat, and milk, or one of its wild relatives.
   - _The flock had grown to over two hundred sheep by lambing season._
   - _A healthy sheep can produce several kilograms of wool each year._
2. A meek, easily led person who follows the crowd instead of using their own judgment.
   - Simple: A person who is shy and easily led, following others instead of thinking for themselves.
   - _The committee was full of sheep who never questioned the chairman's decisions._
   - _She refused to be a sheep and voted against the popular motion._
3. A religious follower; a member of a congregation or faith community under the care of a spiritual leader.
   - Simple: A member of a church, thought of as one of a group cared for by a religious leader.
   - _After thirty years in the parish, the old priest still worried about the sheep who had stopped coming to Mass._
   - _The new minister spent his first month visiting his sheep in their homes across the parish._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Leather produced from the skin of a sheep, valued for its softness and used in gloves, garments, and bookbinding.
- (noun) A person whose speech is easily and reliably recognized by a speech recognition system.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English schep, from Old English sċēp/sċēap, going back to Proto-Germanic *skēpą, whose ultimate origin is unknown. It may perhaps come from a Scythian word, or from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną ("to scratch"). It is related to Dutch schaap and German Schaf.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sheep (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).