English Dictionary

bellwether

IPA（発音記号）

/ˈbɛlwɛðə/

名詞

比喩的用法

The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck. / (figuratively) Anything that indicates future trends.

日本語の意味

先飼羊：群れの先頭で、鐘を首につけられている羊。また、群れを先導する存在。 / 先行指標：物事の将来の動向を示す先駆的な指標や傾向を表す比喩的な意味。

The bellwether led the flock over the ridge at dawn.

鈴を首にぶら下げた先導の羊が夜明けに尾根を越えて群れを導いた。

意味（1）

The leading sheep of a flock, having a bell hung round its neck.

Several old ladies forthwith proclaimed their intention of following him; but, as one or two of them were deaf, and another had been threatened with an attack of that mild, but obstinate complaint, dementia senilis, many thought it was not so much the force of his arguments as a kind of tendency to jump as the bellwether jumps, well known in flocks not included in the Christian fold.

意味（2）

(figuratively) Anything that indicates future trends.

意味（3）

(finance, figuratively) A stock or bond that is widely believed to be an indicator of the overall market's condition.

One of my favorite sentiment indicators is bellwether stocks — key stocks that are leaders in their fields. When investors buy or sell these shares, it's usually a good sign of confidence or the lack of it in that sector of the market and sometimes even the economy.

bellwethers （ plural ）