underbit

1) A north-country term for the cut or 'bite' on the ear of a sheep or other farm animal, which helped to determine its ownership.

It was one of several marks which identified a black wether owned by John Grensyd of Sheriff Hutton: 1539 a headles crose upon the nar fore shoulder a blot of tar on the tayll head and twyse under byt in the Far eayre and ret in the nar eayre and halteth on a hynder legg: his black filly was ret in the nar eayre and under byt in the same. 'Underbitten' was an alternative spelling: in 1555 William Brerey of Pannal left to his daughter Alice a browne rigged cowe, under bytted of bothe eyres. A variety of such marks are illustrated in The Harvest of the Hills.

spellings underbitted
dates 1539 1555

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Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0