The story
- Scots · derived fromloup“to leap”
- English todaylouping ill
From Scots loup (“to leap”), since affected sheep would spring into the air.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
louping ill
Today it means: An enzootic and often fatal viral disease of sheep and other domestic animals, spread by ticks. It is characterized by muscular tremors and spasms, followed by more or less complete paralysis. The principal lesion is an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Full definition →
Scots loup