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  • ewe
    ewe
    noun
    a female sheep, especially when fully mature.
  • Ewe
    Ewe
    noun
    a member of a people of Togo and Ghana, in western Africa.

ewe

1 American  
[yoo, yoh] / yu, yoʊ /

noun

  1. a female sheep, especially when fully mature.


Ewe 2 American  
[ey-vey, ey-wey] / ˈeɪ veɪ, ˈeɪ weɪ /

noun

  1. a member of a people of Togo and Ghana, in western Africa.

  2. the Kwa language spoken by the Ewe people.


ewe 1 British  
/ juː /

noun

    1. a female sheep

    2. ( as modifier )

      a ewe lamb

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Ewe 2 British  
/ ˈɛwɛ /

noun

  1. a member of a Negroid people of W Africa living chiefly in the forests of E Ghana, Togo, and Benin

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ewe

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ēowu, ēwe; cognate with Old High German ou, ouwi, Dutch ooi, Latin ovis, Greek óïs, oîs, Sanskrit ávi

Explanation

At last, a word that means only one thing. A ewe is a female sheep. That is what a ewe is. Most people have precious few opportunities to use the word ewe. For most of us, it's most valuable as a three-letter word for crossword puzzles. For example: 1-down: a three-letter word meaning female sheep. Answer? Ewe! Also, if you're an avid Scrabble player, ewe is a good word to keep up your sleeve. That "W" can rake in some serious points if you put it on a triple-word space. Finally, punster's will enjoy using ewe in a sentence like “you and I will go see the ewe and him” — which has the two of us going to see some guy and his female sheep.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

EWE has also gained financial firepower through its new shareholder Ardian.

From Reuters • Feb. 10, 2020

German energy group EWE, which employs around 700 people in Turkey, said around a dozen managers had left its subsidiary in recent days.

From Reuters • Aug. 4, 2016

When my blank verse is finished, or any long fancy poems, "propino tibi alterandum, cut-up-andum, abridg-andum," just what you will with it—but spare my EWE LAMBS!

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 5 The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, 1796-1820 by Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)

But I say unto you again, Col., spare my EWE LAMBS.

From The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 5 The Letters of Charles and Mary Lamb, 1796-1820 by Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)

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