theave
/θiːv/
theave noun: a ewe lamb of a specific age; in some areas, applied to lambs in their the first or second year (before they have had lambs themselves), in others to lambs in their third year, before their second shearing.
Noun
theave (plural theaves)
- A ewe lamb of a specific age; in some areas, applied to lambs in their the first or second year (before they have had lambs themselves), in others to lambs in their third year, before their second shearing.
- The ewes by them-selfe, the share-hogges and theyues by them selfe1523, Anthony Fitzherbert, Boke of Husbandry
- Comprising eleven calved and in-calf cows and heifers, three barren cows, […] fifteen in-lamb ewes and theaves, […] yearling draught colt and filly, pony, yearling fummel, mare ass in-foal to a pony, two waggons, […]1843 March 3, “To Be Sold by Auction, By B. Cheatle & Son”, in Leicester Journal, and Midland Counties General Advertiser, volume 92, number 4895, Leicester: James Jackson, page 2
Forms of theave
| plural | theaves |
|---|---|
| alternative form | thaive |
| alternative form | thave |
Origin of theave
Inherited from Middle English theve (“young ewe”), from Old English *þeofu, from Proto-West Germanic *þebu.
Questions about theave
- What does theave mean?
- Theave means a ewe lamb of a specific age; in some areas, applied to lambs in their the first or second year (before they have had lambs themselves), in others to lambs in their third year, before their second shearing.
- What part of speech is theave?
- Theave is a noun.
- How do you pronounce theave?
- Theave is pronounced /θiːv/.
- What is the plural of theave?
- The plural of theave is theaves.
Words near theave in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: theave (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “theave.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/theave. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.