sheepfold

English

a sheepfold next to Strans Gill (Yorkshire, England).

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English shepefald, perhaps from Late Old English sċēapa falde (literally “sheep's fold”), equivalent to sheep +‎ fold.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈʃiːp.fəʊld/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːpfəʊld

Noun

sheepfold (plural sheepfolds)

1. An enclosure for keeping sheep.
   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 180:

     If civilized life had covered over the ancient verities, Dumuzi learns in his tragic death that the sheepfold is still there to reclaim him.

2. A flock of sheep.
   • 2025 November 19, Vivian Ren (pseudonym), “The Weeping Believer: A Report from a Chinese Christian”, in Bitter Winter‎^[1]:

     We weep because the Lord’s sheepfold is guarded by wolves; we despair because truth gasps for breath amid lies.

Translations

enclosure

• Armenian: փարախ (hy) (pʻarax)
• Bulgarian: коша́ра (bg) f (košára)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 羊圈 (zh) (yángjuàn), 羊欄 / 羊栏 (zh) (yánglán)

• Czech: ovčín (cs) m
• Dutch: schapenstal (nl) m, schaapskooi (nl) f
• Finnish: lammaskarsina
• French: bergerie (fr) f
• Friulian: tamar m, cjôt m
• German: Schafstall (de) m, Schafhürde (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌰𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐍂 n (awistr)
• Hittite: 𒀀𒊭𒀀𒌋𒅈 (a-ša-a-u-ar)
• Hungarian: juhakol (hu)
• Irish: cró caorach m
• Italian: ovile (it) m, pecorile (it) m
• Japanese: 羊小屋 (ひつじごや, hitsujigoya)
• Latin: ovīle n
• Macedonian: трло n (trlo)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: sauefold m, sauegard, saueinnhegning m or f, saueinngjerding m or f

• Polish: owczarnia (pl) f, koszara f
• Portuguese: aprisco m, redil (pt) m
• Romanian: stână (ro) f, țarc (ro) n, oierie (ro) f
• Romansh: uigl da nursas m, stalla da nursas f
• Russian: овча́рня (ru) f (ovčárnja), заго́н для ове́ц m (zagón dlja ovéc), коша́ра (ru) f (košára)
• Sicilian: mànnira (scn) f
• Slovak: ovčiareň f, ovčinec m
• Spanish: aprisco (es) m, majada (es) f, redil (es) m
• Swedish: fårfålla c
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: ماندره (mandra)

• Ukrainian: коша́ра (uk) f (košára), вівча́рня (uk) f (vivčárnja)
• Volapük: jipacek (vo)
• Welsh: corlan f, defeity m

flock of sheep

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 羊群 (zh) (yángqún)

• Finnish: lammaskatras
• Polish: stado (pl) n