sheepskin
UK[ˈʃiːpskɪn]US[ˈʃiːpskɪn]
n
the skin of a sheep, especially with the wool still attached.
n
leather or parchment made from the skin of a sheep.
n
a diploma or certificate, humorously referring to the parchment on which it was traditionally written.
Morpheme Breakdown
sheep
skin
sheep
skin
Etymology
the word 'sheepskin' is a transparent compound formed from two old english nouns. 'sheep' derives from proto-germanic 'skēpą', whose ultimate origin is uncertain but has remained remarkably stable in meaning. 'skin' comes from old norse 'skinn' (meaning hide or pelt), which replaced the native old english word 'hyd'. the compound directly and literally describes the pelt of a sheep. its use expanded metonymically to refer to the leather or parchment produced from this material. the humorous modern meaning of 'diploma' arose from the historical practice of writing formal documents on parchment made from sheepskin.
Analysis
Structure: sheep + skin
sheep (from old english 'sceap', meaning the animal) + skin (from old english 'scinn', meaning the hide or pelt of an animal).
Examples
he wore a traditional coat made of sheepskin.
the ancient manuscript was carefully preserved on delicate sheepskin.
after years of study, he finally earned his sheepskin.