▪ I. ewe, n.1
(juː)
Forms: α. 1 eowu (3 awe, ouwe), 6–8 ew, (6 eawe), 1– ewe. β. 4 yoo, 6 Sc. yeowe, ȝow, (ȝown), 6–7 Sc. ȝoue, 6–8 yew(e, 4–9 Sc. and north. dial. yow(e.
[Com. Teut. and Aryan: OE. eowu (? éowu), corresp. to OFris. ei (MDu. oie, eie, Du. ooi), OHG. ouwi, au, ou (MHG. awe, ou, mod.HG. dial. au- in aulamm ewe-lamb), ON. ær:—OTeut. *awi-z:—OAryan *owi-s; cf. L. ovi-s, Gr. ὀ(ϝ)ίς, OIr. oi, OSl. ovĭ-ca, Lith. avì-s, Skr. avi.
The OE. represents a type *ęwwi:—WGer. *awwi, the word having assumed the ending of the short a- stems; cf. dęnu from OTeut. *dani-z. It is disputed whether the diphthong is long (éo:—eu from ęw) or short (eo, a modification of ę due to the influence of the following w; cf. eo as u- umlaut of e). The latter view is favoured by the retention of the final -u, which is normal only in short stems.]
1. A female sheep.
| α a 700 Laws of Ine lv, Eowu biþ, mid hire ᵹeonge sceape scilling weorþ. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxxiii. 13 Ic hæbbe..ᵹ eeane eowa and ᵹecelfe cy mid me. a 1100 in Cod. Dipl. IV. 307 To eastran two ewe mid twam lamban. a 1240 Cuckoo Song in Ritson Anc. Songs 3 Sumer is icumen in..Awe bleteþ after lomb. a 1300 Debate Soul & Body in Map's Poems (Camd.) 335, I scholde have ben dumb as a schep, or as a nouwe. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 21 (MS. T.) By meris mylk lyuede & Ewis. 1465 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (1841) 296 For a ram and xix ewes, pryse the pece, xx.d. 1599 Broughton's Lett. ii. 8 It is a poore flocke of sheepe where the Ew must beare the bell. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 649 Ewes and thir bleating Lambs. 1728 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. iv, When..I to milk the ewes first tried my skill. 1842 J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 293 They seldom mistake the ewe to which each lambkin belongs. |
| β c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 199 Sche sendeth here As meek as ever was eny lamb to yow. ? a 1400 Chester Pl., Shepherds I. 120 Be it weither or be it yoo. 1513 Douglas Aeneis v. xiii. 22 In wirschip of Erix..a blak ȝow to god of tempestis fell. 1535 Coverdale Ps. lxxvii. 71 As he was folowinge the yowes greate with yonge. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus Prol. 54 The Watter is comparit to the Ȝown. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 19 She can wynke on the yew, and wery the lam. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. lxxv. 540 The Cheese that they use to make of Yeowes and Goates mylke. 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 249 There is also in the teats of..yeaws a certaine stopping in some of their teats. 1616–61 B. Holyday Persius 305 Bless thou my lambs! And make my tender yews the happy dams Of many young-ones. 1714 Fr. Bk. of Rates 51 Sheep, Yews per Head. 1781 Burns Death of Mailie, Warn him..To stay content wi' yowes at hame. |
b. (See quot)
| 1879 A. Galletly Wool in Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 260/1 The term..‘ewes’ is applied in long-stapled wools, to the short, tender, inferior fleeces. |
2. transf.| 1610 B. Jonson Alch. v. v, [To his sister] Kas. Come on, you yew, you haue match'd most sweetly, ha you not? a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Ewe, or the White Ewe, a Top-woman among the Canting Crew, very Beautiful. Ibid., Strowling-morts..Travel the Countries, making Laces upon Ewes. 1725 New Cant. Dict., Yews. 18.. Jamieson Rotten yow, metaph., Applied to a person..subjected to much expectoration. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
ewe-mutton,
ewe-trade; also,
ewe-bught,
Sc. (see
bought n.2);
ewegang (see
quot. and
gang n.);
ewe-hog (see
quot. and
hog);
ewe lamb, a female lamb; also
fig. (with
spec. reference to
2 Sam. xii.);
ewe-lease, a pasture for ewes (see
lease n.2);
ewe-milk, milk of ewes; also
attrib.;
ewe-milker, one who milks ewes; also
ewe-milking,
vbl. n.;
ewe-teg, a ewe in its second year (see
teg).
| 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 88 Will ye go to the *ew-bughts Marion And wear in the sheep wi' me? 1813 Hogg Queen's Wake 252 At ewe-bught, or at evening fold. 1836 Hor. Smith Tin Trump. I. 157 Comes dancing in from the ewe-bughts the bright-eyed Bessie. |
| 1769 Bp. Wilton Inclos. Act 7 A certain sheep-walk called *ewegang..the said ewegang shall remain. |
| 1614 Markham Cheap Husb. (1623) 106 The first year a male Lambe is called a weather-Hog and a female Lambe an *Ewe-Hog. |
| 1388 Wyclif Gen. xxi. 28 Abraham settide seuene *ewe lambren of the flok asidis. 1611 Bible 2 Sam. xii. 3 Nothing saue one litle ewe lambe. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth v, I cannot afford the church my only and single ewe-lamb. 1884 Tennyson Becket 81 The black sheep baaed to the miller's ewe-lamb. |
| 1874 T. Hardy Madding Crowd I. xiv. 168 Over the snowy down or *ewe-lease on Weatherbury Upper Farm. |
| 1549 Compl. Scot. vi. 42 Thai maid grit cheir of euyrie sort of mylk, baytht of ky mylk & *ȝoue mylk. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxviii, Maybe ye may like the ewe-milk..cheese better. |
| 1815 ― Guy M. xxiii, A half-dressed *ewe-milker..shut it [the door] in their faces. |
| 1728 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. ii. iv, When..I at *ewe-milking first sey'd my young skill. |
| 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. v., A good fat legge of *ewe mutton. 1888 Daily News 1 Nov. 7/3 (Meat) Ewe mutton..improved in value. |
| 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3194/4 There is 2 Rams..and 7 or 8 *Ewe Tegs among them. |
| 1890 Daily News 2 Sept. 2/7 The *ewe trade was extremely dull. |
b. in the names of various plants, as
ewe-bramble,
dial., the common bramble,
Rubus fruticosus;
ewe-daisy,
Potentilla Tormentilla;
ewe-flower, ? the daisy;
ewe-gowan,
Sc., the common daisy,
Bellis perennis.
| 1818 Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck I. 215 (Jam.) Eneugh to make the pinks an' the ewe-gowans blush to the very lip. 1825 ― Queen Hynde 14 The little ewe-flower starr'd the lea. 1847–78 Halliwell, Ewe-gowan, the common daisy. North. 1853 G. Johnston Nat. Hist. E. Bord., Ewe Daisy, Potentilla Tormentilla. 1876 in Britten & Holland Dict. Plant.-n. 1888 W. Somerset Word-bk., Ewe-brimble, the common bramble, Rubus fruticosus. |
▪ II. ewe, n.2 dial. (See
quot.)
| 1863 Morton Cycl. Agric. in Old C. & Farm. Wds. (E.D.S.) 142 White ewe is a shelly kind of earth in the fens. |
▪ III. ewe, v. [f. ewe n.1] † 1. trans. To yean, give birth to (a lamb).
Obs.| 1579 E. K. Gloss. Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Feb. 83 Rather lambes, that be ewed early. c 1660 Hexham Dutch Dict., Spade geboren, A Lambe Late ewed. |
2. trans. To give a ‘ewe-neck’ look to.
| 1848 G. F. Ruxton in Blackw. Mag. LXIII. 730 The severities of a prolonged winter..had robbed his bones of fat and flesh..and ‘ewed’ his neck. |
Hence
ewed ppl. a.| c 1611 Chapman Iliad iv. 116 The God of Light..To whom a hundred first-ewed lambs vow thou. |
▪ IV. ewe obs. form of
yew.