wethern.
/ˈwɛðə/, U.S. /ˈwɛðər/ 1.
a. A male sheep, a ram; esp. a castrated ram. See also bellwether n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male
wetherc890
wether sheep13..
heder1579
hamel1835
wedder1866
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > castrated or wether
wetherc890
wether sheep13..
muttonc1450
stag1784
hamel1835
wedder1866
α.
β. a1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxiv. 14 Cled ere wedirs of shepe.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. III. 127 Daniel seiȝ þe fifte siȝt and visioun of þe weder þat hadde hornes nouȝt al i-liche.c1440 Alphabet of Tales 290 At ans he wolde ete a quarter of a weddur, or ij hennys, or a guse.c1460 Abraham & Isaac in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 39 Turn þe and take þat wedyr there, And sacrifye hym on þat awtere.1479 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 53 And also the same Edmund haue cccc weders in my flokke of Ryngmer.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 152 Thai slew the veddir at thai bar.1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 115 And ane of thame apon his hals A mekill bundyn weddir bare.?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxiiii It is than best tyme to..seuer theym in dyuers sortes..the lambes by themselfe, the wedders and rammes by themself.1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour l. 5443 in Wks. (1931) I Quhat holynes is thare within Ane wolf cled in ane Wodderis skin?a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 205 Fore store of lambes and lang-tailde wedders.c1610 J. Melville Mem. Own Life (1827) 382 Bot some yearly nomber of wethers wilbe easely granted, be them that possess presently the saidis stoir rowmes.1681 S. Colvil Mock Poem (1751) 85 Two three beggars,..Who stealing public geese and wedders, Were freed, by rendering skin and feathers.1796 W. Marshall Rural Econ. W. Eng. I. 263 The wedders, of the best sort, fat perfectly well, at two years old.?1830 P. Sellar Netherby, Cumberland 55, in Farm-rep. Sheep generally fed off by turnips are the best description of Cheviot wedders.1861 Times 16 Oct. Wedders commonly clip 7½lb. of wool.1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 96 What might be the price of wedders now in Australy?c890 Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 34 He breac on þam hælftre for bridelse & weþera fella for sadole.
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 576 His bigleofa wæs ælce dæg..hundteontig weðera.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1210 Vourti þousend of ruþeren he let quelle þer to, & of fatte weþeren an hondred þousend al so.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3998 On ilc alter fier alðerneðer And ðor-on an calf and a weðer.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxx. 35 And he seuerde that day the she geyt, and the sheep, and the hyeȝ geyt, and the wetheres.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) viii. x. 310 As a whetther in lyenge vpon oo syde tornyth and chaungyth by egall tymes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11649 Wolf and weþer, leon and ox, Sal comen samen, and lamb and fox.
c1450 Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 81 Ysaac..was delyvred fro dede And a wethire cleving in breres sacrified in his stede.
1533 in F. W. Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 2 John Horley oon whether,..ii yewes.
1588 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha (new ed.) sig.Yy iv Tres oues castratas (anglicè vocatas Weathers).
a1589 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell: Sheep (1596) 236 In some places they doe..point the wethers, the yeaws, and the lambes ech by themselues.
1599 W. Shakespeare et al. Passionate Pilgrime (new ed.) sig. C7 My weathers bell rings dolefull knell.
1616 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals II. iv. 95 The Weathers bell that leads our flocke around.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 538 Who shore me Like a tame Weather, all my precious fleece. View more context for this quotation
1676 London Gaz. No. 1122/4 Lost or stolen..45 Sheep, called Western Weathers.
1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 72 Some mingling stir the melted Tar..Others th' unwilling Wether drag along.
1747 T. Smollett Reproof 71 All senior members of the horned race.—The weather, goat, ram, elk and ox were there.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. ii, in Poems 83 Two Pigs, a Cow, and Wethers half a Score, Increas'd his Stock.
1861 Times 7 Oct. For wethers the average prices obtained were 38s. to 56s.
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. xii. 541 As when a shepherd carries home with ease A wether's fleece.
b. transferred of a man; spec. a eunuch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > infertility > [noun] > castration > person
geldinga1382
eunuchc1430
spadoc1430
chastelinga1570
capon1594
castrate1639
spade1680
wether1724
demi-male1728
androgyne1742
castrato1763
hijra1838
emasculate1886
half-man-
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. clxxxviiv So the great wether which is of late fallen..so craftely, so scabedly, ye & so vntruly iuggeled wyth the kyng, that [etc.].
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 113 I am a tainted weather of the flocke, meetest for death. View more context for this quotation
1724 J. Gay Captives Epil. But the soft voice of an Italian weather, Makes them all languish three whole hours together.
a. A battering ram.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > battering-ram
rameOE
wether14..
bowstowrec1425
rammera1460
montonc1515
battle-ram1535
horse1601
battering-ram1611
ram-engine1632
battering-engine1774
battering-machine1774
14.. MS. Digby 233 lf. 182/1 As þe instrument þat hatte þe wether smyteþ þe walles of a cyte þat is byseged.
b. The zodiacal sign of the Ram.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > celestial sphere > zone of celestial sphere > particular signs > [noun] > Aries
ramOE
Ariesc1374
wether1565
1565 B. Googe tr. ‘M. Palingenius’ Zodiake of Life (new ed.) xi. sig. PPvij The other by the Balance runnes, and by the Wethers face.
3. grey wethers: boulders of hard sandstone found lying on the surface of the Downs in Wiltshire and Devon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > [noun] > a rock > boulder > types of
whinstonea1585
Saracen's stone1644
grey wethers1660
sarsena1697
grey goose1816
Moeraki boulder1879
1660 J. Childrey Britannia Baconica 49 Upon the Downs between Marleborough and Aubury..are to be found abundance of great stones, commonly called by the Country thereabout, the Gray Weathers.
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis iii. 291 A course sort of Jasper Stones, knockt off from those in Wilts-shire near Marleborough, called The Grey-Weathers.
1743 W. Stukeley Abury 48 An infinite quantity of immense stones, or sarsens, or gray-weathers.
1801 H. Skrine Rivers Great Brit. 331 Those vast stones called ‘The Grey Withers [sic]’, are scattered irregularly about the country.
1835 Penny Cycl. III. 163/2 Detached oolitic sandstones of various sizes, known by the name of the Grey Wethers.
4. Commerce. The fleece obtained from the second or any subsequent shearing of a sheep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > body and parts of > fleece
fleecea1000
woolc1540
wether1879
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 260/1 (Wool) To good, healthy, sound fleeces more than one year old the term ‘wethers’ is given.
1895 Agric. Gaz. 17 June 538/3 Super-super wethers, 91/ 2d.;..selected Yorkshire wethers, 73/ 4d.; deep wethers, 9d.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
wether fleece n.
ΚΠ
1422 J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (1898) 163 Pelleus..Sende..Iason..into the Ile of Calcos to wyn the wethyr fleis of golde.
wether-flock n.
ΚΠ
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 321 In favour rather of keeping a weather-flock than an ewe-flock on the hill-country.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 31 Wedder flocks are generally kept on the highest hirsel of the farm.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer xi The wether flock which had been lost.
wether haggis n.
ΚΠ
1790 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 565 Is he slain by Highland bodies?.. And eaten like a wether-haggis [MS weather-haggis]?
wether-mutton n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > types of mutton
ram mutton1599
Welsh muttona1627
wether-mutton1707
turnip-muttona1722
marsh mutton1724
traik1802
Southdown1818
pré salé1839
Southdowner1841
tup-mutton1844
1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. (1709) 171 She never dress'd Weather-Mutton, when she could get Ewe or Goat.
1824 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1825) 281 Does Mr. Giblet, the butcher, reserve his..weather-mutton for better customers?
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 100 Wether-mutton is the meat in perfection.
wether-skin n.
ΚΠ
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) ii. 128 Bettir we bath wer byand hyddis And weddir skynnis at hame.
1917 Blackwood's Mag. Nov. 676/2 [temp. 1750–90] Wood and wedder-skins and grain packed for export to the South.
C2. Also wether sheep n.† wether gang n. Scottish Obsolete a pasture or right of pasturage for wethers (see gang n. 4c).† wether goat n. Obsolete a castrated goat.† wether-silver n. Scottish Obsolete money in lieu of a wether paid as a customary rent or tax.
wedderbouk n. Scottish the carcass of a wether.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > sheep killed for food > carcass of wether
wedderbouk15..
15.. Aberd. Reg. (Jam.) ijs. Scottis for half ane wedder~bouk.
wether-gammon n. a leg of mutton.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > other cuts or parts
Jack1466
sheep's tongue1552
leg of mutton1570
porknell1596
nut1611
pope's eye1663
hand1671
mutton chop1696
mutton cutlet1706
wether-gammona1774
wobbler1823
Queen Elizabeth's bone1846
chump1861
skirt1881
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1785) 183 Wi' skelps like this fock sit but seenil down To wether-gammon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > tenure and rights > [noun] > rights
pannage1392
commonc1405
stint1437
agistmenta1450
intercommon1449
commonty1466
foggage1471
communitya1475
gist1493
commoning?a1509
arrentationc1540
wether gang1561
browsage1570
pasturage1572
feed1575
intercommoner1581
frankfold1609
broouage1610
fellow commoner1612
horsegate1619
frankfoldage1628
shack1629
tatha1641
retropannage1679
levancy and couchancya1691
commonance1701
stinter1701
horse-lease1721
stray1736
goose-gate1739
commonage1792
twinter1846
couchance1886
levance1886
sheep-stray1891
stintholder1894
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > pasture > sheep pasture
heafc1525
sheep-gate1535
herdwick1537
fold-course1538
wether gang1561
sheep-walk1586
sheep's course1623
sheep-weald1634
sheep-rake1653
sleighta1697
sheep-leasea1722
sheep-sleighta1722
hirsel1822
sheep-run1826
sheep-heaf1844
shepherd land1892
heft1960
1561 in Dunfermline Reg. (Bannatyne Club) 427 Item the bouplaces and wedder gangis within the parrochin of Dunfermling, lxxxxvj. li.
1609 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1610 154/1 Cum pastura super Pidmidle et lie Weddergang earundem.
wether-getter n. a ram kept for breeding wethers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > uncastrated or ram > kept for breeding purposes
rameOE
breed-rama1661
ram-getter1790
wether-getter1790
teaser1823
stallion1842
1790 W. Marshall Rural Econ. Midland Counties I. 422 The characteristic difference between what is called a ‘ramgetter’, and a ‘weddergetter’ or a ‘good grazier's sheep’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > subfamily Caprinae (goat) > [noun] > male > castrated
wether goat1671
1671 T. Hunt Abecedarium Scholasticum 52 Caper, a Weather-Goat.
1772 T. Nugent tr. J. F. de Isla Hist. Friar Gerund I. 35 To drub this Signior Barbi-castron, this false-bearded wether-goat.
wether head n. a sheep's head; figurative a stupid person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > stupid, foolish, or inadequate person > stupid person, dolt, blockhead > [noun]
asseOE
sotc1000
beastc1225
long-ear?a1300
stock1303
buzzard1377
mis-feelinga1382
dasarta1400
stonea1400
dasiberd14..
dottlec1400
doddypoll1401
dastardc1440
dotterel1440
dullardc1440
wantwit1449
jobardc1475
nollc1475
assheada1500
mulea1500
dull-pate15..
peak1509
dulbert?a1513
doddy-patec1525
noddypolla1529
hammer-head1532
dull-head?1534
capon1542
dolt1543
blockhead1549
cod's head1549
mome1550
grout-head1551
gander1553
skit-brains?1553
blocka1556
calfa1556
tomfool1565
dunce1567
druggard1569
cobble1570
dummel1570
Essex calf1573
jolthead1573
hardhead1576
beetle-head1577
dor-head1577
groutnoll1578
grosshead1580
thickskin1582
noddyship?1589
jobbernowl1592
beetle-brain1593
Dorbel1593
oatmeal-groat1594
loggerhead1595
block-pate1598
cittern-head1598
noddypoop1598
dorbellist1599
numps1599
dor1601
stump1602
ram-head1605
look-like-a-goose1606
ruff1606
clod1607
turf1607
asinego1609
clot-poll1609
doddiea1611
druggle1611
duncecomb1612
ox-head1613
clod-polla1616
dulman1615
jolterhead1620
bullhead1624
dunderwhelpa1625
dunderhead1630
macaroona1631
clod-patea1635
clota1637
dildo1638
clot-pate1640
stupid1640
clod-head1644
stub1644
simpletonian1652
bottle-head1654
Bœotiana1657
vappe1657
lackwit1668
cudden1673
plant-animal1673
dolt-head1679
cabbage head1682
put1688
a piece of wood1691
ouphe1694
dunderpate1697
numbskull1697
leather-head1699
nocky1699
Tom Cony1699
mopus1700
bluff-head1703
clod skull1707
dunny1709
dowf1722
stupe1722
gamphrel1729
gobbin?1746
duncehead1749
half-wit1755
thick-skull1755
jackass1756
woollen-head1756
numbhead1757
beef-head1775
granny1776
stupid-head1792
stunpolla1794
timber-head1794
wether heada1796
dummy1796
noghead1800
staumrel1802
muttonhead1803
num1807
dummkopf1809
tumphya1813
cod's head and shoulders1820
stoopid1823
thick-head1824
gype1825
stob1825
stookiea1828
woodenhead1831
ning-nong1832
log-head1834
fat-head1835
dunderheadism1836
turnip1837
mudhead1838
donkey1840
stupex1843
cabbage1844
morepork1845
lubber-head1847
slowpoke1847
stupiditarian1850
pudding-head1851
cod's head and shoulders1852
putty head1853
moke1855
mullet-head1855
pothead1855
mug1857
thick1857
boodle1862
meathead1863
missing link1863
half-baked1866
lunk1867
turnip-head1869
rummy1872
pumpkin-head1876
tattie1879
chump1883
dully1883
cretin1884
lunkhead1884
mopstick1886
dumbhead1887
peanut head1891
pie-face1891
doughbakea1895
butt-head1896
pinhead1896
cheesehead1900
nyamps1900
box head1902
bonehead1903
chickenhead1903
thickwit1904
cluck1906
boob1907
John1908
mooch1910
nitwit1910
dikkop1913
goop1914
goofus1916
rumdum1916
bone dome1917
moron1917
oik1917
jabroni1919
dumb-bell1920
knob1920
goon1921
dimwit1922
ivory dome1923
stone jug1923
dingleberry1924
gimp1924
bird brain1926
jughead1926
cloth-head1927
dumb1928
gazook1928
mouldwarp1928
ding-dong1929
stupido1929
mook1930
sparrow-brain1930
knobhead1931
dip1932
drip1932
epsilon1932
bohunkus1933
Nimrod1933
dumbass1934
zombie1936
pea-brain1938
knot-head1940
schlump1941
jarhead1942
Joe Soap1943
knuckle-head1944
nong1944
lame-brain1945
gobshite1946
rock-head1947
potato head1948
jerko1949
turkey1951
momo1953
poop-head1955
a right one1958
bam1959
nong-nong1959
dickhead1960
dumbo1960
Herbert1960
lamer1961
bampot1962
dipshit1963
bamstick1965
doofus1965
dick1966
pillock1967
zipperhead1967
dipstick1968
thickie1968
poephol1969
yo-yo1970
doof1971
cockhead1972
nully1973
thicko1976
wazzock1976
motorhead1979
mouth-breather1979
no-brainer1979
jerkwad1980
woodentop1981
dickwad1983
dough ball1983
dickweed1984
bawheid1985
numpty1985
jerkweed1988
dick-sucker1989
knob-end1989
Muppet1989
dingus1997
dicksack1999
eight ball-
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > mutton > [noun] > sheep's head
sheep's head1542
wether heada1796
James1827
jemmy1836
mutton chop1864
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 821 And send us from thy bounteous store A tup- or wether-head!
1869 J. S. Le Fanu Wyvern Myst. II. 102 Why didn't ye tell me, ye d——d wetherhead?
wether hog n. (also wether hog sheep) a male sheep (castrated or not) before its first shearing; cf. hog n.1 4; chiefly Scottish and northern.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > defined by age
wether hog1451
wether teg1550
heder1579
pur-hog1668
1451 in A. Clark Lincoln Diocese Documents (1914) 51 I will my scheperd hafe vj wedyr hogges.
1537 N.C. Wills (Surtees 1908) 103 I geve unto..John half a hundreth of share wedder hogges.
1541 in J. Gage Hist. & Antiq. Hengrave, Suffolk (1822) 118 Item, lix wether hogg shepe at xiiijd. the pece.
1614 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husb. (1623) 106 The first year a male Lambe is called a weather-Hog and a female Lambe an Ewe-Hog.
1776 Compl. Grazier (ed. 4) 149 So of the male sheep, we may reckon them wedder or wedder hogs, after they are..of a year's growth.
1811 T. Davis Gen. View Agric. Wilts. (new ed.) 260 Sheep,..wether-hogs, chilver-hogs from thence [sc. Christmas] till shear-time.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 38 [In Scotland] a female is called a ewe-hogg, a male a tup-hogg, and a castrated male a wether-hogg.
1882 Somerset Co. Gaz. 18 Mar. 12 good ewe and wether hogs, warranted sound.
2001 B. Broady In this Block there lives Slag 2 When I first met Jacob he was about nine months old—a wether hogg, running with the yard-dogs.
wether lamb n. a male lamb.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > lamb > male
wether lamb?a1500
ram lamb1570
tup-hog1591
pur-lamba1722
tup-lamba1722
pur1787
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 758/12 Hic agnus, a wedyrlombe.
1595 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1889) IV. 62 Unus agniculus (Anglice ‘a wether lambe’).
1801 Farmer's Mag. Aug. 360 Wedder lambs..are selling from 10s. to 12s. and 13s. per head.
1815 Sporting Mag. 45 227 She..gave me a detail of their management in buying their wether lambs and fattening their wethers.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 115 The best ewe lambs..are retained, and all the wether and the second ewe lambs are sent to the market.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > payment or service to feudal superior > [noun] > money payment in lieu of produce
sheep-silver?12..
wood-silverc1245
wood-penny1261
woodland penny1351
cow-whit1508
wether-silver1557
sheep-moneya1618
veal money1672
wood-rent1774
1557 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1598 223/1 Custum-mert-sylver, custum-wadder-silver.
wether teg n. = wether hog n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > male > defined by age
wether hog1451
wether teg1550
heder1579
pur-hog1668
1550 in T. Phillipps Index Worcester Wills (c1830) 180 Forty Wether Teggs.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 39 In England..sheep bear the name of lamb until 8 months old, after which they are called ewe and wether teggs until once clipped.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c890