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==Origin==
==Origin==
[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], leading sheep of a flock, leader, from belle bell + wether; from the [[practice]] of belling the [[leader]] of a flock.
[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=English#ca._1100-1500_.09THE_MIDDLE_ENGLISH_PERIOD Middle English], leading sheep of a flock, leader, from belle bell + wether; from the [[practice]] of belling the [[leader]] of a flock.
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_century 13th Century]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13th_century 13th Century]
We usually think of sheep more as followers than [[leaders]], but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Long ago, it was 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 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 that has been [[castrate]]d). 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 13th century.
We usually think of sheep more as followers than [[leaders]], but in a flock one sheep must lead the way. Long ago, it was 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 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 that has been [[castrate]]d). 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 13th century.
==Definition==
==Definition==