Soay

/ ˈsəʊeɪ /

noun

1. a breed of small horned sheep having long legs and dark brown wool that is plucked rather than shorn; found mainly on St Kilda where they were probably introduced by the Vikings

Word History and Origins

Origin of Soay¹

named after Soay, an island in the St Kilda group, where they were first found

Example Sentences

In Scotland, the BBC Rewind team has brought together a collection of films detailing the social history of the country, including the Island of Soay residents being relocated to Mull in 1953 and the women of Campbeltown taking part in a broom throwing competition in 1963.

From BBC

The couple raise a conservation flock of British Soay sheep whose wool they pluck rather than sheer, and sell to a local fiber artist.

From Seattle Times

“They’re called Soay sheep,” John said.

From New York Times

“The Romans developed the woolly sheep that we have now, and they’re a very artificial type of sheep. But the Soay sheep are very much the same as they would have been in pre-Roman times.”

From New York Times

Voluntarily evacuated by St Kildans in 1930, the two-time world heritage site and most remote place in the British Isles is now home to a military base, seasonal conservationists, a million seabirds and some endemic species: the Soay and Boreray sheep, and the St Kilda field mouse.

From The Guardian