Bellwether (Word of the week)

This week's word is bellwether. That's wether, not weather as this word does have something to do with bells but nothing to do with meterology.

Bellwether has two possible meanings:-

• The leading sheep of a flock, identified by a bell hung from its neck.

• A person who leads the way. A ringleader or someone who sets a trend or standard.

The first part of the word bell has a nice obvious, literal meaning. The second part is an old english word originating in old norse - wethervedr, meaning ram and can be found in old Frisian - withar, old Saxon - wibar and old high German - widar.

Wether basically means sheep, although more specifically it means a ram (particularly a castrated ram) and in the mid 16th century was used as a noun meaning a eunuch.

Other words origating from wether include:

• grey wethers - large boulders which look like sheep when seen from a distance or through fog and mist.
• wether head - a sheep's head or a stupid person.

Sources:
Shorter Oxford Dictionary (2 volumes) 6th edition, 2007
Chambers Concise Dictionary, 1989
Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson, Penguin Books 1997 (2nd edition)


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