Bellwether, wether

Bellwether: When you hear this word, you might think of weather or whether, but in both cases you'd be wrong. The word is wether. What is a wether? A wether is a castrated sheep. Farmers tie a bell around the bellwether's neck and he leads the flock. Now each time your hear this word, you should visualize the castrated ram leading the ewes and lambs though the hills and dales.

Stocks rose 1 percent on Tuesday after industrial bellwether United Technologies Corp posted results that beat expectation. (Reuters)

A shepherd always needs a bellwether - or he himself must occasionally be a wether.