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Glite Dictionary
Ovis poli

Ovis poli

9.9
A wild Asian sheep with very large curled horns
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Ovis poli
  • The Ovis poli is renowned for its impressive, spiraled horns.

Examples

  • Scientists trekked into the Pamir Mountains to observe Ovis poli in its natural habitat.

  • Many believe that Ovis poli deserves full species status, separate from the argali.

  • The Ovis poli is known for its impressive horns.

  • Did you know that the Ovis poli can weigh up to 200 pounds?

  • Scientists trekked into the Pamir Mountains to observe Ovis poli in its natural habitat.

  • The Ovis poli is renowned for its impressive, spiraled horns.

  • Many believe that Ovis poli deserves full species status, separate from the argali.

Surface Forms

Ovis poli singular
Ovis polis plural

Morphology

Ovis + poli

Knowing 'Ovis' would allow a learner to infer this is a type of sheep (genus Ovis), so part of the meaning (that it is a sheep species) is recoverable. However, 'poli' has no clear lexical meaning for a B1 learner and the specific attributes (Asiatic wild sheep with large horns) cannot be derived from the constituents; Latin binomial names function as labels and require specialist knowledge, making the overall expression only partially transparent.

Etymology

Ovis poli: The scientific name Ovis poli comes from Latin and a person's name: Ovis means 'sheep' and poli may be named after a naturalist called Poli. So the name points to a particular kind of 'sheep', a wild sheep with large spiral horns, which helps you remember the animal.