Yiddish

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Etymology

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From Middle High German schopz, schöpz (wether, castrated ram) (whence regional German Schöps (wether; mutton)), from a West Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *skopьcь (eunuch, someone castrated) (whence Russian скопе́ц (skopéc, eunuch)), from the verb *skopiti (to castrate).

The restriction to sheep may be due to the phonetic similarity to Middle High German schāf (sheep), but compare Czech skopec (castrated ram).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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שעפּס (shepsm, plural שעפּסן (shepsn)

  1. sheep (animal)

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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