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.
Ovine meats—such as lamb and mutton—reached record highs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
“We’re not in a big country,” said Serge Préveraud, the president of the National Ovine Federation.
From New York Times • Sep. 4, 2013
Ovine Industry Sirs: I wish to congratulate you on your section "Husbandry" in your Dec. 16 issue.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Cambrian Welsh or Mountain Sheep Is of the Ovine race, His conversation is not deep, But then—observe his face!
From More Beasts (For Worse Children) by B. T. B. (Basil Temple Blackwood)
The different structure of the horns of the Bovine and Ovine Ruminants is, in my view, the result of a different mode of fighting.
From Hormones and Heredity by Cunningham, J. T.
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.
