noun
1.
a number of animals kept, feeding, or traveling together; drove; flock: a herd of cattle; a herd of sheep; a herd of zebras.
2.
Sometimes Disparaging. a large group of people: The star was mobbed by a herd of autograph seekers.
3.
any large quantity: a herd of bicycles.
4.
the herd, the common people; masses; rabble: He had no opinions of his own, but simply followed the herd.
verb (used without object)
5.
to unite or go in a herd; assemble or associate as a herd.
00:10
Herd
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
| chat, to converse |
| to flee; abscond: |
6.
ride herd on, to have charge or control of; maintain discipline over: He rode herd on 40 students in each class.
Origin:
before 1000; Middle English; Old English heord; cognate with Gothic hairda, German Herde
before 1000; Middle English; Old English heord; cognate with Gothic hairda, German Herde
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
a herdsman (usually used in combination): a cowherd; a goatherd; a shepherd.
verb (used with object)
2.
to tend, drive, or lead (cattle, sheep, etc.).
3.
to conduct or drive (a group of people) to a destination: The teacher herded the children into the classroom.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English herd(e), hirde, Old English hierde; cognate with Gothic hairdeis, German Hirt(e); derivative of herd1
before 900; Middle English herd(e), hirde, Old English hierde; cognate with Gothic hairdeis, German Hirt(e); derivative of herd1
Synonyms
2. guard, protect, watch.
2. guard, protect, watch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To herd
Collins
World English Dictionary
herd1 (hɜːd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a large group of mammals living and feeding together, esp a group of cattle, sheep, etc |
| 2. | derogatory often a large group of people |
| 3. | derogatory the large mass of ordinary people |
| —vb | |
| 4. | to collect or be collected into or as if into a herd |
| [Old English heord; related to Old Norse hjörth, Gothic hairda, Old High German herta, Greek kórthus troop] | |
| herd2 (hɜːd) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. archaic, dialect or a man or boy who tends livestock; herdsman |
| b. (in combination): goatherd; swineherd | |
| —vb | |
| 2. | to drive forwards in a large group |
| 3. | to look after (livestock) |
| [Old English hirde; related to Old Norse hirthir, Gothic hairdeis, Old High German hirti, Old Saxon hirdi, herdi; see | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
herd
O.E. heord, from P.Gmc. *kherdo- (cf. O.N. hjorð, O.H.G. herta, Ger. Herde, Goth. hairda "herd"), from PIE *kherdha- "a row, group" (cf. Skt. sardhah "herd, troop," O.C.S. creda "herd," Gk. korthys "heap," Lith. kerdzius "shepherd"). The verb is first recorded 1393. Herdsman is O.E. heordman, but
not common until herd in sense of "keeper of domestic animals which go in herds" fell from use (cf. shepherd). Intrusive -s- appeared c.1600, on model of craftsman, etc. Herd instinct in psychology is first recorded 1908.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
For her doctoral dissertation, she developed a robotic shepherd capable of corralling a herd of twenty robots.
Keep herd sizes large enough to maintain the future health of the herds.
The foreman of shepherds examines herd on a pasture with the help of binocular.
Soon you'll have a whole herd of them scarfing what they think is free corn.
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