1591: bellwether Apr 23, 2019

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Some words have etymologies that require knowledge of other languages and phonology to understand, while others may be surprising simply because other related words fell out of fashion. In the case of 'bellwether', the word is usually used to mean a predictor of something, but it can also mean the goat that leads the herd. Considering the second, less common usage of the word, it is easy to see why this is, a 'wether' is another term for a ram—though generally only a castrated one—and it wears a bell. If it were not for this other meaning, it would be yet another etymology drawn from goats and sheep that has no relation to them now.

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