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Mouflon

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mouf⋅lon

[moof-lon]
–noun
a wild sheep, Ovis musimon, inhabiting the mountainous regions of Sardinia and Corsica, the male of which has large curving horns.
Also, moufflon.


Origin:
1765–75; < F < It muflone, orig. dial.; cf. Corsican muffolo, Sardinian murone, LL mufrō, s. mufrōn-, presumably < a pre-L substratal language
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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mou·flon also mouf·flon   (mōōf'lŏn')   
n.   pl. mouflon or mou·flons also moufflon or mouf·flons
A small, wild European sheep (Ovis musimon), native to Sardinia and Corsica and having large curving horns in the male.

[French, alteration of Italian dialectal muvrone, from Late Latin mufrō, mufrōn-.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

mouflon

(Ovis musimon), small wild sheep, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), of Corsica, Sardinia, and Cyprus. The mouflon stands about 70 cm (27-28 inches) at the shoulder and is reddish brown with white underparts. The male has a light, saddle-shaped mark on its back and bears large, curving horns with the tips turned outward. The female is hornless. The mouflon has been introduced into parts of Europe but has become endangered in its original range. It is thought by some to be one of the animals from which the domestic sheep (Ovis aries) was derived

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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