bellwether
nounEtymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-der. Proto-Germanic *bellǭ Proto-West Germanic *bellā Old English belle Middle English belle Proto-Indo-European *wet- Proto-Indo-European *wétrusder. Proto-Germanic *weþruz Proto-West Germanic *weþru Old English weþer Middle English wether Middle English belwether English bellwether From Middle English belwether, belleweder, equivalent to bell + wether (“castrated ram”).
- inherited from belwether
Definitions
The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck.
Anything that indicates future trends.
- Mortgage delinquencies often act as a bellwether for a forthcoming recession.
- At Hampton Court the little flocks of visitors are not provided with an official bellwether, but are left to browse at discretion upon the local antiquities.
A stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market's…
A stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market's condition.
The neighborhood
Derived
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for bellwether. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA