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Sheep belong to the same family of mammals as goats, antelope, bison, buffalo, and cows. The genus Ovis includes at least five species, including the domestic sheep. Some 12,000 years ago, in the area now known as Iraq, sheep became one of the first animals to be domesticated; only the dog is known to have been tamed earlier. At first, they were valued for their milk, skin, and meat (mutton and lamb); not until about 1500 B.C. did the weaving of wool begin. Today a billion sheep are being farmed worldwide. The term ovine (which is a noun as well as an adjective) is mostly used in scientific and medical writing—which means you could impress your friends by dropping it into a casual conversation.
Examples of ovine in a Sentence
Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 26 July 2016
People have been counting sheep to fall asleep for hundreds of years, but former Saturday Night Live star Bobby Moynihan's delightful new picture book suggests that maybe these ovine animals have gotten a bad rap for being snooze-inducing.
—Lauren Morgan, EW.com, 20 Sep. 2022
These are the ovine foot soldiers in one of the most ambitious renewable energy revolutions in the United States.
—Noelle Swan, Scientific American, 21 Sep. 2019
But in my estimation, the ultimate funkmaster—and there can only be one—is U Pecorinu, our ovine demon-king.
—Molly Fitzpatrick, Bon Appetit, 26 Apr. 2018
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Cite this Entry
“Ovine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ovine. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ovine
adjective
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