was wotd|2006|September|27
English
Alternative spellings
bell-wether
Etymology
From bell + wether, originally a sheep with a bell around its neck, that led a flock.
Pronunciation
IPA|/�b�lw�ð�/ italbrac|RP
IPA|/�b�lw�ð�r/ italbrac|US
audio|en-us-bellwether.ogg|Audio (US)
Noun
en-noun
- The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck.
- Anything that indicates future trends.
- A stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market|market's condition.
Quotations
1861 � w:Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., s:Elsie Venner|Elsie Venner, ch XXXI
:Several old ladies forthwith proclaimed their intention of following him; but, as one or two of them were deaf, and another had been threatened with an attack of that mild, but obstinate complaint, dementia senilis, many thought it was not so much the force of his arguments as a kind of tendency to jump as the bellwether jumps, well known in flocks not included in the Christian fold.
Synonyms
italbrac|indicates trends: gauge, indicator, sign
Translations
rfc-trans
German: Leithammel m (1), führender Wert (3)
Japanese: ����������, sendou sya�, �������, shihyou�
See also
omen
ru:bellwether
vi:bellwether
zh:bellwether
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