ovine
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ovine
First recorded in 1670–80; from Late Latin ovīnus, equivalent to Latin ov(is) “sheep” + -īnus -ine 1
Explanation
Anything ovine has to do with sheep — this is a sheep-specific word. Baa! Just as canine describes dog-like things and bovine describes cow-like things, ovine is used to describe specifically sheep-like things. A poodle with hair that resembles a sheep is kind of ovine. Someone who shears sheep gives ovine haircuts. A scientist who studies sheep knows more ovine facts than anyone else, except maybe a farmer with a lot of ovine critters on the farm.
Vocabulary lists containing ovine
A Lexical Zoo of Animal Adjectives
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Animal Adjectives
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This Week in Words: September 21–27, 2019
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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.
Counting to three and closing your eyes is all it takes to wipe the ovine memory clean and return to a state of blissful ignorance.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
Still, overall meat prices remain 4.9% higher than a year ago, with bovine largely steady and ovine prices rising.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
The 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was photographed in the eye-catching ovine garment at a polo match in June 1981, soon after her engagement to Prince Charles, who was then heir to the British throne.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
As the sheep investigate the murder, they bestow ovine motives on human activity, resulting in a wonderfully peculiar whodunit, rich with humor and whimsy.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 14, 2020
One gets so many inhuman letters, ovine, bovine, porcine, etc., etc.:
From Letters of Edward FitzGerald in two volumes, Vol. 1 by William Aldis Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
