[OT] Dictionary - was Re: Extract Attachment from Mail

[Bob Goodwin]

Anne Wilson wrote:
> On Tuesday 20 February 2007 10:16, Mark Knoop wrote:
>> At 18:42 on 19 Feb 2007, Anne Wilson <cannewilson at tiscali.co.uk> 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