ovine

adj

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

   “[…] Dr. [Mauro] Legni reported to him a month afterward that the ovination had been successful, and that no marked differences had been observable between the vesicles produced by the ovine and those produced by the vaccine lymph. Dr. Legni added, that he had continued to propagate the ovine lymph on children.”

   “Satyr was a gleam of classical memory on the part of Moreau,—his face ovine in expression, like the coarser Hebrew type; his voice a harsh bleat”

   “Thus, in general, cattle sperm are reasonably robust, but sheep much less so. Antelope, evolutionarily speaking, are somewhere between cattle and sheep: some are cattle-like, and some are more ovine.”

   “Ovine meat currently averages 25% of meat production in these countries, but over the projections period, the strongest production gains are expected in the poultry meat sector, contributing 41% to their meat output gains.”

2. (comparable, figuratively)Resembling a sheep in character; acquiescent, easily influenced, passive, or willing to follow a leader blindly.

   “The Patient from being Maniacl, or raging mad, became vvholly Ovine or Sheepiſh; he bleated perpetually, and chevv'd the Cud: […]”

   “At present, municipal councillors play at party politics by organizing the ovine members who do not know how to vote until a Party Whip tells them, and opposing independent candidates at the elections.”

noun

1. An animal from the genus Ovis; a sheep.
2. (figuratively)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.

   “At present, municipal councillors play at party politics by organizing the ovine members who do not know how to vote until a Party Whip tells them, and opposing independent candidates at the elections. The remedy for this is the exclusion of ovines from the municipal panel.”