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Webster 1913 Edition

Herd

Herd

(hẽrd)
,
Adj.
Haired.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Herd

(hẽrd)
,
Noun.
[OE.
herd
,
heord
, AS.
heord
; akin to OHG.
herta
, G.
herde
, Icel.
hjörð
, Sw.
hjord
, Dan.
hiord
, Goth.
haírda
; cf. Skr.
çardha
troop, host.]
1.
A number of beasts assembled together;
as, a
herd
of horses, oxen, cattle, camels, elephants, deer, or swine
; a particular stock or family of cattle.
The lowing
herd
wind slowly o’er the lea.
Gray.
☞ Herd is distinguished from flock, as being chiefly applied to the larger animals. A number of cattle, when driven to market, is called a drove.
2.
A crowd of low people; a rabble.
But far more numerous was the
herd
of such
Who think too little and who talk too much.
Dryden.
You can never interest the common
herd
in the abstract question.
Coleridge.
Herd's grass
(Bot.)
,
one of several species of grass, highly esteemed for hay. See under
Grass
.

Herd

,
Noun.
[OE.
hirde
,
herde
,
heorde
, AS.
hirde
,
hyrde
,
heorde
; akin to G.
hirt
,
hirte
, OHG.
hirti
, Icel.
hir
[GREEK]
ir
, Sw.
herde
, Dan.
hyrde
, Goth.
haírdeis
. See 2d
Herd
.]
One who herds or assembles domestic animals; a herdsman; – much used in composition;
as, a shep
herd
; a goat
herd
, and the like.
Chaucer.

Herd

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Herded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Herding
.]
[See 2d
Herd
.]
1.
To unite or associate in a herd; to feed or run together, or in company;
as, sheep
herd
on many hills
.
2.
To associate; to ally one's self with, or place one's self among, a group or company.
I'll
herd
among his friends, and seem
One of the number.
Addison.
3.
To act as a herdsman or a shepherd.
[Scot.]

Herd

,
Verb.
T.
To form or put into a herd.

Webster 1828 Edition

Herd

HERD

, n.
1.
A collection or assemblage; applied to beasts when feeding or driven together. We say, a herd of horses, oxen, cattle, camels, elephants, bucks, harts,and in Scripture, a herd of swine. But we say, a flock of sheep, goats, or birds. A number of cattle going to market is called a drove.
2.
A company of men or people, in contempt or detestation; a crowd; a rabble; as a vulgar herd.

HERD

,
Noun.
A keeper of cattle; used by Spenser, and still used in Scotland, but in English now seldom or never used, except in composition, as a shepherd, a goatherd, a swineherd.

HERD

,
Verb.
I.
To unite or associate, as beasts; to feed or run in collections. Most kinds of beasts manifest a disposition to herd.
1.
To associate; to unite in companies customarily.
2.
To associate; to become one of a number or party.

HERD

,
Verb.
T.
To form or put into a herd.

Definition 2024

Herd

Herd

See also: herd

German

Noun

Herd m ‎(genitive Herds or Herdes, plural Herde)

  1. stove, cooker
  2. (dated) fireplace, hearth
  3. (figuratively) the household as the traditional workplace of women
    Frauen gehören an den Herd.‎
    Women belong in the household.

Usage notes

The sense “fireplace” is still common in the compound Herdfeuer.

Declension

Derived terms

  • Brandherd
  • Herdfeuer
  • Herdplatte
  • Herdprämie
  • Infektionsherd

herd

herd

See also: Herd

English

Noun

herd ‎(plural herds)

  1. A number of domestic animals assembled together under the watch or ownership of a keeper. [from 11th c.]
  2. Any collection of animals gathered or travelling in a company. [from 13th c.]
    • 2007, J. Michael Fay, Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma, National Geographic (March 2007), 47,
      Zakouma is the last place on Earth where you can see more than a thousand elephants on the move in a single, compact herd.
  3. A crowd, a mass of people; now usually pejorative: a rabble. [from 15th c.]
    • Dryden
      But far more numerous was the herd of such / Who think too little and who talk too much.
    • Coleridge
      You can never interest the common herd in the abstract question.
Translations

Verb

herd ‎(third-person singular simple present herds, present participle herding, simple past and past participle herded)

  1. (intransitive) To unite or associate in a herd; to feed or run together, or in company.
    Sheep herd on many hills.
    • 1953, Janice Holt Giles, The Kentuckians
      The women bunched up in little droves and let their tongues clack, and the men herded together and passed a jug around and, to tell the truth, let their tongues clack too.
  2. (transitive) To unite or associate in a herd
    He is employed to herd the goats.
  3. (intransitive) To associate; to ally oneself with, or place oneself among, a group or company.
    (Can we date this quote?) I’ll herd among his friends, and seem
    One of the number.     Addison.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English herde, from Old English hirde, hierde, from Proto-Germanic *hirdijaz. Cognate with German Hirte, Swedish herde, Danish hyrde.

Noun

herd ‎(plural herds)

  1. (now rare) Someone who keeps a group of domestic animals; a herdsman.
    • 2000, Alasdair Grey, The Book of Prefaces, Bloomsbury 2002, page 38:
      Any talent which gives a good new thing to others is a miracle, but commentators have thought it extra miraculous that England's first known poet was an illiterate herd.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Verb

herd ‎(third-person singular simple present herds, present participle herding, simple past and past participle herded)

  1. (intransitive, Scotland) To act as a herdsman or a shepherd.
  2. (transitive) To form or put into a herd.
    I heard the herd of cattle being herded home from a long way away.
Translations

See also

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

herd

  1. imperative of herde

Old High German

Etymology

From West Germanic *hertha (Proto-Germanic *herþaz), whence also Old Saxon herth, Old Frisian herth, hirth, Old English heorþ. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ker- ‎(“heat;fire”).

Noun

herd m

  1. hearth

Descendants

Etymology

From Old High German herd, from Proto-Germanic *herþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ker- ‎(“heat; fire”). Cognate with English hearth, Dutch haard, Swedish härd.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /heːɐ̯t/ (standard)
  • IPA(key): /hɛɐ̯t/ (common)

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