英语词汇black sheep的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

black sheep. Black sheep were once thought to bear the dev- il’s mark in their wool. The superstition arose in days when dyestuffs were so ineffective and expensive that it wasn’t prac- tical to dye the wool of black sheep. Since black sheep were biological rarities, there weren’t enough of them to market black wool, and the animals were regarded as practically worthless. Generations of farmers cursing their bad luck for having black sheep in their flocks evolved the term black sheep, for any disgrace in a family or community. Wild sheep are usually brownish, and American mountain men called the buff wool of the bighorn (Ovis canadensis) its “long underwear.”

词汇	black sheep
词源	black sheep. Black sheep were once thought to bear the dev- il’s mark in their wool. The superstition arose in days when dyestuffs were so ineffective and expensive that it wasn’t prac- tical to dye the wool of black sheep. Since black sheep were biological rarities, there weren’t enough of them to market black wool, and the animals were regarded as practically worthless. Generations of farmers cursing their bad luck for having black sheep in their flocks evolved the term black sheep, for any disgrace in a family or community. Wild sheep are usually brownish, and American mountain men called the buff wool of the bighorn (Ovis canadensis) its “long underwear.”
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