Sheephouse

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A simple building or shelter on a farm where sheep are kept, sheltered, or handled
2. An outbuilding in which flocks of sheep are housed during bad weather or lambing season
3. A small structure used to keep sheep protected from wind, rain, and predators on pastureland

Etymology: A sheephouse is exactly what the name promises: a building for sheep, formed by joining "sheep" and "house," two plain Old English words that have stood side by side for centuries. The compound needs no special story, since the meaning of each part carries straight through to the whole. English builds many such pairings on the spot, and sheephouse follows the same pattern as cowhouse or henhouse, where an animal's name sits in front of "house" to name the shelter that keeps it. The first element is simply the animal, and the second is the ordinary word for a building.

Synonyms: sheepfold, sheepcote, sheepshed