Teg

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A protective layer or covering, often used in reference to skin or a shell; A term that indicates a considered aspect of a biological or anatomical structure; Often relates to an outer layer that shields or encases something within
2. Referring to a defensive envelope or skin-like sheath that protects an organism; Denoting a structural component that serves as an external protective feature; Characterizing a layer that provides insulation or safety to underlying elements
3. Describing a covering that safeguards an underlying entity, such as a shell for an animal; Indicating a biological structure with a protective function in an organism; Pertaining to an outer layer that adds safety to a more vulnerable inner aspect

Etymology: The word "teg" is a sheep name for an animal in its second year, and it is one of those words whose origin is still unsettled. Its earliest use, as far as the record goes, was not for sheep at all. It was an insult aimed at a woman, applied in a contemptuous sense, and only later did the term pass to a ewe in her second year. The sheep sense is the one that stuck. Once it had shifted to the animal, the word settled into the vocabulary of shepherds and wool trade, where a sheep was counted by its age rather than by a single generic name. Some scholars have suggested a link to a Swedish word for a ewe, a connection that remains uncertain and is hard to prove from the surviving evidence. The origin of the word may therefore be obscure, but its movement from a term of abuse to a pastoral term is well attested.

Synonyms: sheep, lamb