# sheep-biter

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A sheepdog that worries (chases or attacks) sheep.
2. A contemptible person, especially one who practices petty thefts.

## 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).

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