ovine vs sheep

ovine

noun
  • An animal from the genus Ovis; a sheep. 

  • 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. 

adj
  • Resembling a sheep in character; acquiescent, easily influenced, passive, or willing to follow a leader blindly. 

  • Of, being, pertaining to, or resembling a sheep; also, (not comparable) of an animal: from the genus Ovis. 

sheep

noun
  • A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis. 

  • The domestic Ovies aries, the most well known species of Ovis. 

  • Sheepskin leather. 

  • A timid, shy person who is easily led by others. 

  • A religious adherent, a member of a congregation or religious community (compare flock). 

  • A person who is easily understood by a speech recognition system; contrasted with goat. 

How often have the words ovine and sheep occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )