sheep-biter
Meanings
noun
- A sheepdog that worries (chases or attacks) sheep.
- A contemptible person, especially one who practices petty thefts.
Word forms
Etymology
sheep + biter (“one who bites”). Figurative term possibly influenced by the fable "De cane oves domini sui occidente, a quo suspensus est" in Hecatomythium by Laurentius Abstemius (later included with Aesop's Fables as "A Sheep-Biter Hang'd" — see quotations).
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