Online Google Dictionary

bellwether 中文解釋 wordnet sense Collocation Usage Collins Definition
Noun
/ˈbelˌweT͟Hər/,
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bellwethers, plural;
  1. The leading sheep of a flock, with a bell on its neck

  2. An indicator or predictor of something
    • - college campuses are often the bellwether of change
    • - the market's bellwether stock
  1. someone who assumes leadership of a movement or activity
  2. sheep that leads the herd often wearing a bell
  3. A bellwether is any entity in a given arena that serves to create or influence trends or to presage future happenings.
  4. Bellwether, a 1996 novel by Connie Willis, is a book that can fall into many genres, such as comedy, fairy tale, romance, and science fiction. The novel is broadly based on the unsettling concepts of human culture. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1997.
  5. The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck; Anything that indicates future trends; A stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market's condition
  6. Much the same as a precursor: a social group that adopts trends earlier than most others. For example, it is often said that California is a bellwether state of the USA, because trends appear there first. The danger of such assumptions is that bellwethers can change. ...
  7. A stock whose performance is indicative of the overall market direction.
  8. A state or district wherein an election result is said to predict what will happen in elections elsewhere, especially nationwide. These can change from year to year, and they may be over-hyped by prognosticators and media reports. ...
  9. A market bellwether is a security whose changing price is considered a signal that the market is changing direction. It gets its name from the whether, or castrated ram, that walks at the head of a shepherds flock. ...
  10. A leading indicator of trends. A bellwether stock is a stock which is used to gauge the performance of the market in general. General Motors is an example of bellwether stock in the past. Hence the saying "What's good for GM is good for America."
  11. a ram, usually castrated, that wears a bell around its neck and is followed by the other sheep.
  12. Items in a profit and loss account that appear below the net profit figure; that is, items that are taken into account after the figure for net profit has been calculated. Contrast with above the line.
  13. It comes from the actions of shepherds. A sheep was known as a wether at one time and a shepherd would hang a bell from the eldest sheep in the flock so younger, less experienced sheep would follow the experienced wether. ...
  14. «Index Nick, 'the bellwether.' A very early instance of the use of this word will be found in the custumal of the manor of Brithwolton, co. Berks (Camden Soc), where the keeper of the wethers was entitled, among his perquisites, to the belwether s fleece ("belwertheresfles "). ...