Mouton

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of sheep that is typically raised for meat; characterized by its thick wool and distinctively shaped body; often used in culinary dishes or as a source of fur and leather garments
2. A breed of domestic sheep valued for both its meat and wool production; features a robust physique and a warm fleece; commonly utilized in various culinary preparations around the world
3. A livestock animal that is primarily bred for its meat, known as lamb when young; it possesses a sturdy frame and abundant wool; sought after for diverse food dishes and fashion materials

Etymology: The English word "mouton" entered the language by borrowing the French word for "sheep" outright, rather than arriving through Latin the way most of its relatives did. Its close cousin is "mutton," the meat of a sheep. The two are doublets, meaning they descend from the same source but reached English by separate routes: "mutton" came through Old French and was absorbed into English long ago, while "mouton" was taken directly from modern French much later, as a term for the sheep itself. The French word traces back to a Latin ancestor that meant something like "wether," a castrated male sheep, which is why the flavour of the meat and the animal remained tied together in the English pair. Where "mutton" became the everyday word for the cooked meat, "mouton" stayed a specialist term for the living animal, especially in the context of breeding and farming.

Synonyms: sheep fur, sheepskin, wool, fur, pelts