sheepskin
noun
sheepskin is spelled S-H-E-E-P-S-K-I-N: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, sheepskin means “The skin of a sheep, especially an adult sheep, and especially when used to make parchment or in bookbinding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of sheepskin is sheepskins.
How many letters and syllables are in sheepskin?
| Letters | 9: S-H-E-E-P-S-K-I-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,954th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is sheepskin?
Sheepskin appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,954th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sheepskin?
Sheepskin has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-sheepskin.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sheepskin
Also written: sheep-skin (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of sheepskin
- sheepskins plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sheepskin mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The skin of a sheep, especially an adult sheep, and especially when used to make parchment or in bookbinding.
Near-synonym: lambskin
- 2
The tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on, especially when used for clothing, rugs, etc.
- 3
USA diploma, especially the one representing a university or college degree.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sheepskin in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense skin of a sheep:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | peau de mouton |
| German | Schafspelz, Schaffell, Schafsfell, Schafleder, Schafsleder |
| Portuguese | pele de ovelha |
| Spanish | carnero, badana, zalea, piel de oveja |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sheepskin come from?
From sheep + skin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).