sheep

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various usually horned ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis in the family Bovidae, especially the domesticated species O. aries, raised in many breeds for wool, edible flesh, or skin.
2. n. Leather made from the skin of one of these animals.
3. n. A person regarded as timid, weak, or submissive.
4. n. One who is easily swayed or led.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A ruminant mammal of the family Bovidæ, subfamily Orinæ, and genus Ovis; specifically, Ovis aries, domesticated in many varieties, and one of the animals most useful to man. The male is a ram, the female a ewe, and the young a lamb; the fresh of the adult is mutton; of the young, lamb; the coat or fleece is wool, a principal material of warm clothing; the prepared hide is sheepskin, used for many purposes; the entrails furnish sausage-cases, and are also dried and twisted into strings for musical instruments (“catgut”); the prepared fat makes tallow or suet; and the twisted horns of the ram are used in the manufacture of various utensils. The milk of the ewe is thicker than that of the cow, yielding a relatively greater quantity of batter and cheese. The sheep is one of the most harmless and timid of animals. The artificial breeds of O. aries are numerons; it is not known from what wild stock or stocks they are descended. The mouflon is a probable ancestor of some at least of the domestic varieties, especially those with short tail and crescentic horns. The principal English varieties of the sheep are the large Leicester, the Cotswold, the Southdown, the Cheviot, and the black-faced breeds. The Leicester comes early to maturity, attains a large size, has a fine full form, and carries more mutton, though not of finest quality, in the same apparent dimensions than any other; the wool is not so long as in some other breeds, but is considerably finer. The Cotswolds have been improved by crossing with Leicesters; their wool is fine, and their mutton fine-grained and full-sized. Southdowns have short, close, and curled wool, and their mutton is highly valued for its flavor; they attain a large size. All these require a good climate and rich pasture. The Cheviot is much hardier, and is well adapted for the green, grassy hills of Highland districts; the wool is short, thick, and fine. The Cheviot possesses good fatteuing qualities, and yields excellent mutton. The black-faced is hardiest of all, and adapted for wild heathery hills and moors; its wool is long and coarse, but its mutton is the very finest. The Welsh resembles the black-faced, but is less hardy; its mutton is delicious, but its fleece weighs only about 2 pounds. The foreign breeds of sheep are numerous, some of the more remarkable being
2. n. Leather made from sheepskin, especially split leather used in bookbinding.
3. n. In contempt, a silly fellow.
4. n. A shepherd.
5. To pasture sheep upon; use as a sheep-range.

Wiktionary

1. n. A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis. Male: ram (intact), wether (castrated). Female: ewe. Young: lamb. Carnal: lamb (youth), mutton (adult).
2. n. A timid, shy person who is easily led by others.
3. n. Plural form of shoop#Etymology 2|shoop
4. n. en.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Any one of several species of ruminants of the genus Ovis, native of the higher mountains of both hemispheres, but most numerous in Asia.
2. n. A weak, bashful, silly fellow.
3. n. Fig.: The people of God, as being under the government and protection of Christ, the great Shepherd.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
2. n. a timid defenseless simpleton who is readily preyed upon
3. n. a docile and vulnerable person who would rather follow than make an independent decision