bellwether
noun
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Because it suggests the act of forecasting, one might be inclined to think that bellwether has something to do with weather. But the wether in bellwether has nothing to do with meteorology. Instead, to learn whither wether, we must head to the sheep farm. We usually think of sheep more as followers than leaders, but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Since long ago, it has been common practice for shepherds to hang a bell around the neck of one sheep in their flock, thereby designating it the lead sheep. This animal was historically called the bellwether, a word formed by a combination of the Middle English words belle (meaning “bell”) and wether (a noun that refers to a male sheep, and today specifically to a castrated male sheep). It eventually followed that bellwether would come to refer to someone who takes initiative or who actively establishes a trend that is taken up by others. This usage first appeared in English in the 15th century and has remained in the language ever since.
Examples of bellwether in a Sentence
Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
To get a sense of which way the results are going, Hudson is looking to bellwether races in states that are expected to have results relatively early on Election Night in Virginia, North Carolina, and Michigan.
—Emily Brooks, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
Strength in rural areas is also key for Trump: To monitor, watch Sauk County, a bellwether that's picked the national winner every year since 2008 (Biden won 50% in 2020).
—Joe Walsh, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Michigan Michigan, with 15 electoral votes, has been a strong bellwether for the rest of the country.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Bellwether.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bellwether. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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bellwether
noun
from earlier bellwether "leading sheep (or wether) of a flock," from the fact that this sheep wore a bell which told the shepherd where the flock was
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