Anne Wilson wrote:
On Tuesday 20 February 2007 10:16, Mark Knoop wrote:
At 18:42 on 19 Feb 2007, Anne Wilson <cannewilson@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Oxford English Dictionary (which I would think was fairly
definitive) notes the use of sheeps.
Not in my copy - though of course few of us, if any, would have the
full OED. Would you like to post the entire entry?
I subscribe to the website version (http://dictionary.oed.com/). The
plural is mentioned after definition 1a. This is the basic entry, I've
not included the various spellings, etymology or quotations...
sheep, n.
1. a. Any animal of the ruminant genus Ovis (sometimes horned),
closely allied to the goats; esp. of the widely domesticated species
Ovis aries, of which there are many varieties, and which is reared for
its flesh, fleece, and skin. The male of the sheep is a ram, the female
a ewe, the young a lamb. The flesh of the adult sheep is mutton. The
fleece yields wool, the skin is made into leather or parchment, and the
intestines are used for the strings of musical instruments (see CATGUT).
pl. with -s.
<grin> Far more quote than I intended :-)
My copy is a very well-thumbed "Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English",
1964. It has a very long entry of which the first part is
sheep, n. (pl.the same) 1. Kinds of wild or domesticated, timid, gregarious
woolly occas. horned ruminant of which male is named ram, female ewe & young
lamb.
It goes on to refer to sayings and quotations about sheep, then sheepish
personal types, and the various derivatives of sheep~.
It's quite definite about the plural, you'll notice. After all, you would
say 'a flock of gulls', but you wouldn't say 'a flock of sheeps' - or would
you? :-)
The Collins English Dictionary, of more recent vintage, is also definite that
the plural is sheep. Of course there is the possibility of American English
having a different usage.
Anne
I have been listening to the "English" language for about 76 years and
have never heard 'sheeps' used as the plural form.
I believe Merriam-Webster qualifies as American:
sheep
15 entries found for sheep. The first 10 are listed below.
To select an entry, click on it. For more results, click here
<javascript:promoWin()>.
Main Entry: sheep
<javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?sheep001.wav=sheep')>
Pronunciation: 'shEp
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural sheep
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English scEap; akin to Old High
German scAf sheep
1 : any of various hollow-horned typically gregarious ruminant mammals
(genus Ovis) related to the goats but stockier and lacking a beard in
the male; specifically : one (O. aries) long domesticated especially for
its flesh and wool
2 a : a timid defenseless creature b : a timid docile person; especially
: one easily influenced or led
3 : leather prepared from the skins of sheep : SHEEPSKIN
<http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/sheepskin>
Learn more about "sheep"
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9079170/bighorn-sheep> and related
topics at Britannica.com
<http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9079170/bighorn-sheep>
Bob Goodwin Zuni, Virginia, USA
