sheep
[sheep] 
| 1. | any of numerous ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis, of the family Bovidae, closely related to the goats, esp. O. aries, bred in a number of domesticated varieties. |
| 2. | leather made from the skin of these animals. |
| 3. | a meek, unimaginative, or easily led person. |
| 4. | separate the sheep from the goats, to separate good people from bad or those intended for a specific end from unqualified people. |
bef. 900; ME; OE (north) scēp; c. D schaap, G Schaf
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| sheep (shēp) n. pl. sheep
[Middle English, from Old English scēap.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Sheep
Sheep\, n. sing. & pl. [OE. shep, scheep, AS. sc?p, sce['a]p; akin to OFries. sk?p, LG. & D. schaap, G. schaf, OHG. sc[=a]f, Skr. ch[=a]ga. [root]295. Cf. Sheepherd.]1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of several species of ruminants of the genus Ovis, native of the higher mountains of both hemispheres, but most numerous in Asia. Note: The domestic sheep (Ovis aries) varies much in size, in the length and texture of its wool, the form and size of its horns, the length of its tail, etc. It was domesticated in prehistoric ages, and many distinct breeds have been produced; as the merinos, celebrated for their fine wool; the Cretan sheep, noted for their long horns; the fat-tailed, or Turkish, sheep, remarkable for the size and fatness of the tail, which often has to be supported on trucks; the Southdowns, in which the horns are lacking; and an Asiatic breed which always has four horns. 2. A weak, bashful, silly fellow. --Ainsworth. 3. pl. Fig.: The people of God, as being under the government and protection of Christ, the great Shepherd. Rocky mountain sheep.(Zo["o]l.) See Bighorn. Maned sheep. (Zo["o]l.) See Aoudad. Sheep bot (Zo["o]l.), the larva of the sheep botfly. See Estrus. Sheep dog (Zo["o]l.), a shepherd dog, or collie. Sheep laurel (Bot.), a small North American shrub (Kalmia angustifolia) with deep rose-colored flowers in corymbs. Sheep pest (Bot.), an Australian plant (Ac[ae]na ovina) related to the burnet. The fruit is covered with barbed spines, by which it adheres to the wool of sheep. Sheep run, an extensive tract of country where sheep range and graze. Sheep's beard (Bot.), a cichoraceous herb (Urospermum Dalechampii) of Southern Europe; -- so called from the conspicuous pappus of the achenes. Sheep's bit (Bot.), a European herb (Jasione montana) having much the appearance of scabious. Sheep pox (Med.), a contagious disease of sheep, characterixed by the development of vesicles or pocks upon the skin. Sheep scabious. (Bot.) Same as Sheep's bit. Sheep shears, shears in which the blades form the two ends of a steel bow, by the elasticity of which they open as often as pressed together by the hand in cutting; -- so called because used to cut off the wool of sheep. Sheep sorrel. (Bot.), a prerennial herb (Rumex Acetosella) growing naturally on poor, dry, gravelly soil. Its leaves have a pleasant acid taste like sorrel. Sheep's-wool (Zo["o]l.), the highest grade of Florida commercial sponges (Spongia equina, variety gossypina). Sheep tick (Zo["o]l.), a wingless parasitic insect (Melophagus ovinus) belonging to the Diptera. It fixes its proboscis in the skin of the sheep and sucks the blood, leaving a swelling. Called also sheep pest, and sheep louse. Sheep walk, a pasture for sheep; a sheep run. Wild sheep. (Zo["o]l.) See Argali, Mouflon, and O["o]rial.Cite This Source
sheep
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SHEEP mathematics, tool
A package for symbolic mathematics, especially tensor analysis and General Relativity, developed by Inge Frick in Stockholm in the late 1970s to early 1980s. SHEEP was implemented in DEC-10 assembly language, then in several LISPs. The current version runs on Sun-3 and is based on Portable Standard LISP.
["Sheep, a Computer Algebra System for General Relativity", J.E.F. Skea et al in Proc First Brazilian School on Comp Alg, W. Roque et al eds, Oxford U Press 1993, v2].
(http://riaca.win.tue.nl/archive/can/SystemsOverview/Special/Tensoranalysis/SHEEP/index.html).
(2002-12-28)
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Sheep
are of different varieties. Probably the flocks of Abraham and Isaac were of the wild species found still in the mountain regions of Persia and Kurdistan. After the Exodus, and as a result of intercourse with surrounding nations, other species were no doubt introduced into the herds of the people of Israel. They are frequently mentioned in Scripture. The care of a shepherd over his flock is referred to as illustrating God's care over his people (Ps. 23:1, 2; 74:1; 77:20; Isa. 40:11; 53:6; John 10:1-5, 7-16). "The sheep of Palestine are longer in the head than ours, and have tails from 5 inches broad at the narrowest part to 15 inches at the widest, the weight being in proportion, and ranging generally from 10 to 14 lbs., but sometimes extending to 30 lbs. The tails are indeed huge masses of fat" (Geikie's Holy Land, etc.). The tail was no doubt the "rump" so frequently referred to in the Levitical sacrifices (Ex. 29:22; Lev. 3:9; 7:3; 9:19). Sheep-shearing was generally an occasion of great festivity (Gen. 31:19; 38:12, 13; 1 Sam. 25:4-8, 36; 2 Sam. 13:23-28).
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