sheep – English noun declension

English noun forms of sheep

Noun: sheep
Singularsheep
Pluralsheep

Sample Sentences

  • There is much sad evidence, too, of the spoliation and dereliction of vanished industry: tips, slag-heaps and derelict colliery-screens among which the ubiquitous, nomad mountain sheep graze unconcernedly. [1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449:]
  • 1990, Dave Mustaine, "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due", Megadeth, Rust in Peace.
  • And fools like me, who cross the sea and come to foreign lands / Ask the sheep, for their beliefs do you kill on God's command?

Etymology

1. Etymology tree
2. Proto-Germanic *skēpą
3. Proto-West Germanic *skāp
4. Old English sċēap
5. Middle English schep
6. English sheep
7. Inherited from Middle English schep, schepe, from Anglian Old English sċēp (West Saxon sċēap), from Proto-West Germanic *skāp, from Proto-Germanic *skēpą, of unknown origin.
8. Perhaps from the same Scythian word (compare Ossetian цӕу (cæw, “goat”), Persian چپش (čapiš, “yearling goat”)) which was borrowed into Albanian as cjap, sqap (“buck”) and into Slavic (compare Polish cap). After Kroonen, *skēpą is instead from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną (“to scratch”) via Kluge's law.
9. Cognates
10. Cognate with Scots sheep (“sheep”), Yola sheep, zheep (“sheep”), North Frisian schep, schäip, Sjip (“sheep”), Saterland Frisian Schäip, Skäip (“sheep”), West Frisian skiep (“sheep”), Alemannic German Schaf, Schooff (“sheep”), Bavarian Schof, Schouf, Schåf (“sheep”), Dutch schaap (“sheep”), German Schaf (“sheep”), German Low German Schaap (“sheep”), Limburgish Schoëp, sjaop (“sheep”), Luxembourgish Schof (“sheep”), Vilamovian siöf (“sheep”), Yiddish שאָף (shof, “sheep”). See: Middle English Nouns 'schep', Middle English Nouns 'schep', Polish Nouns 'cap', Dutch Nouns 'schaap', German Nouns 'Schaf'.

Verbs referencing "sheep"

German Nouns Schaf.