1 any ruminant mammal of the genus Ovis with a thick woolly coat, esp. kept in flocks for its wool or meat, and noted for its timidity.
2 a bashful, timid, or silly person.
3 (usu. in pl.) a a member of a minister's congregation. b a parishioner.
Phrases and idioms:
separate the sheep from the goats divide into superior and inferior groups (cf. Matt. 25:33). sheep-dip
1 a preparation for cleansing sheep of vermin or preserving their wool.
2 the place where sheep are dipped in this. sheep-run an extensive sheepwalk, esp. in Australia. sheep's-bit a plant, Jasione montana, resembling a scabious.
Derivatives:
sheeplike adj.
Etymology: OE scep, scaeligp, sceap
Useful english dictionary. 2012.