adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈəʊvaɪn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈoʊˌvaɪn/
rhymes with -əʊvaɪn
rhymes with -oʊvaɪn
1
adj
Meaning 1
Of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep; also, (not comparable) of an animal: from the genus Ovis.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sheepish, sheeplike, sheepy
Antonyms: nonovine
2
adj
Meaning 2
Resembling a sheep in character; acquiescent, easily influenced, passive, or willing to follow a leader blindly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: comparable, figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: sheeplike
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An animal from the genus Ovis; a sheep.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A person regarded as resembling a sheep in character; one who is acquiescent, easily influenced, passive, or willing to follow a leader blindly; a sheep.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
adjective
Meaning 5
of or pertaining to or of the nature of or characteristic of a sheep or sheep
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
The adjective is borrowed from Late Latin ovīnus (“ovine”) + English -ine (suffix with the sense ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). Ovīnus is derived from Latin ovis (“sheep”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h2ówis (“sheep”), possibly from *h2ew- (“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”) in the sense of something that provides woollen clothing) + -īnus (suffix with the sense ‘of or relating to’ forming adjectives). By surface analysis, ove- + -ine. The noun is derived from the adjective.
Across languages
Translations
40 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
dhentë
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Arabic:
غَنَمِيّ
(ḡanamiyy)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Aromanian:
uin
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Belarusian:
аве́чы
(avjéčy)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Bulgarian:
о́вчи
(óvči)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Catalan:
oví
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Czech:
ovčí
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Esperanto:
ŝafa
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
French:
ovin
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
German:
Schafs-
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Greek:
πρόβειος
(próveios)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Italian:
ovino
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Latin:
ovīnus
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Lithuanian:
avi̇̀nis
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Macedonian:
овчи
(ovči)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Polish:
owczy
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Portuguese:
ovino
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Romanian:
ovin
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Russian:
ове́чий
(ovéčij)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Serbo-Croatian:
о̏вчјӣ
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Serbo-Croatian:
ȍvčjī
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Slovak:
ovčí
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Slovene:
ovčji
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Spanish:
ovino
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Spanish:
ovejuno
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Tocharian B:
aiyye
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Ukrainian:
ове́чий
(ovéčyj)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Ukrainian:
о́вній
(óvnij)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Ukrainian:
у́чий
(účyj)
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Welsh:
dafadaidd
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
Welsh:
defeidiog
— of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep
German:
schafsmäßig
— resembling a sheep in character
