1980s; earliest use found in World Archaeology. From scientific Latin Ovis, genus name of the sheep + Capra, genus name of the goat + -ine. Compare earlier ovicaprid, ovicaprid.
Definition of ovicaprine in US English:
ovicaprine
nounˌəʊvɪˈkaprʌɪn
Archaeology
= ovicaprid.
adjectiveˌəʊvɪˈkaprʌɪn
Archaeology
= ovicaprid.
Origin
1980s; earliest use found in World Archaeology. From scientific Latin Ovis, genus name of the sheep + Capra, genus name of the goat + -ine. Compare earlier ovicaprid, ovicaprid.