brebis

ewe (female sheep)

noun bruh-BEE Rare

Origin: Old French from Latin berbix (sheep)

Usage Note

Brebis is one of those French nouns whose plural is identical to the singular — une brebis, des brebis. The well-known proverb brebis galeuse (mangy sheep) refers to the 'black sheep' of a group. The male is bélier (ram) and a young female is agnelle.

Examples

"La brebis cherche son agneau."

Natural Translation

The ewe looks for her lamb.

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