wether
[weth -er]
- a castrated male sheep.
- Also called wether wool. wool from previously shorn sheep.
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Origin of wether
before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Old Saxon withar, Old High German widar, Old Norse vethr, Gothic withrus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for wether
Historical Examples
Hark, I hear the piping of the shepherd and the tinkling bell of the wether.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
Choose a fine-grained leg of wether mutton, of twelve or fourteen pounds weight; cut it ham shape, and let it hang two days.
Some of the lands will carry an ox and a wether per acre; rents, 15s.
A Tour in IrelandArthur Young
It is said that a Lincoln wether has attained the weight of 304½ lbs.
The Stock-Feeder's ManualCharles Alexander Cameron
God send us wether to bring her in this dangerous tyme of the yeare.
Diary of Richard Cocks Vol. IRichard Cocks
wether
- a male sheep, esp a castrated one
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Word Origin
Old English hwæther; related to Old Frisian hweder, Old High German hwedar, Old Norse hvatharr
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for wether
n.
Old English weðer "ram," from Proto-Germanic *wethruz (cf. Old Saxon wethar, Old Norse veðr, Old High German widar, German Widder, Gothic wiþrus "lamb"), literally "yearling," from PIE root *wet- "year" (cf. Sanskrit vatsah "calf," Greek etalon "yearling," Latin vitulus "calf," literally "yearling"). Male sheep, especially a castrated one.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper