# ewe

> English word · Noun · IPA /juː/ · frequency rank #37,448

## Definitions
1. A female sheep, as opposed to a ram.

## Etymology
From Middle English ewe, from Old English eowu, from Proto-West Germanic *awi, from Proto-Germanic *awiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis (“sheep”).
Cognates
See also Old English ēow (“sheep”), West Frisian ei, Dutch ooi, German Aue; also Old Irish oí, Latin ovis, Tocharian B ā(ᵤ)w, Lithuanian avi̇̀s (“ewe”), Russian овца́ (ovcá).

## Easily confused with
- **ex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-ex)
- **ey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-ey)
- **ez** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-ez)
- **eye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-eye)
- **eww** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-eww)
- **exe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-exe)
- **eyes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-eyes)
- **eyed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-eyed)
- **exec** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-exec)
- **eyre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-eyre)
- **exes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-exes)
- **you** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-you)
- **u** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-u)
- **yu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-yu)
- **yoo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-yoo)
- **yew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-yew)
- **j00** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ewe-vs-j00)
- **e** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/e-vs-ewe)
- **ed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ed-vs-ewe)
- **et** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/et-vs-ewe)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ewe