*herd*

n. [ AS. cūhyrde; cū cow + hyrde a herder. ] One whose occupation is to tend cows. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who tends goats. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. gosherde. See Goose, and Herd a herdsman. ] One who takes care of geese. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Haired. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. herd, heord, AS. heord; akin to OHG. herta, G. herde, Icel. hjörð, Sw. hjord, Dan. hiord, Goth. haírda; cf. Skr. çardha troop, host. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A crowd of low people; a rabble. [ 1913 Webster ]

But far more numerous was the herd of such
Who think too little and who talk too much. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

You can never interest the common herd in the abstract question. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

Herd's grass (Bot.), one of several species of grass, highly esteemed for hay. See under Grass. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. hirde, herde, heorde, AS. hirde, hyrde, heorde; akin to G. hirt, hirte, OHG. hirti, Icel. hir&unr_;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 shepherd; a goatherd, and the like. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To associate; to ally one's self with, or place one's self among, a group or company. [ 1913 Webster ]

I'll herd among his friends, and seem
One of the number. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To act as a herdsman or a shepherd. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To form or put into a herd. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A book containing the list and pedigrees of one or more herds of choice breeds of cattle; -- also called herd record, or herd register. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A herdsman. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named after Baron von Herder, who discovered it. ] (Min.) A rare fluophosphate of glucina, in small white crystals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A shepherdess; a female herder. Sir P. Sidney. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A herdsman. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named from Peter Herdic, the inventor. ] A kind of low-hung cab.

{ } n.; pl. -men The owner or keeper of a herd or of herds; one employed in tending a herd of cattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. -women A woman who tends a herd. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A swineherd. W. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A person who has the care of neat cattle; a cowherd. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pot + sherd or shard. ] A piece or fragment of a broken pot. Job ii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. schepherde, schephirde, AS. sceáphyrde; sceáp sheep + hyrde, hirde, heorde, a herd, a guardian. See Sheep, and Herd. ] 1. A man employed in tending, feeding, and guarding sheep, esp. a flock grazing at large. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The pastor of a church; one with the religious guidance of others. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shepherd bird (Zool.), the crested screamer. See Screamer. --
Shepherd dog (Zool.), a breed of dogs used largely for the herding and care of sheep. There are several kinds, as the collie, or Scotch shepherd dog, and the English shepherd dog. Called also shepherd's dog. --
Shepherd dog, a name of Pan. Keats. --
Shepherd kings, the chiefs of a nomadic people who invaded Egypt from the East in the traditional period, and conquered it, at least in part. They were expelled after about five hundred years, and attempts have been made to connect their expulsion with narrative in the book of Exodus. --
Shepherd's club (Bot.), the common mullein. See Mullein. --
Shepherd's crook, a long staff having the end curved so as to form a large hook, -- used by shepherds. --
Shepherd's needle (Bot.), the lady's comb. --
Shepherd's plaid, a kind of woolen cloth of a checkered black and white pattern. --
Shephered spider (Zool.), a daddy longlegs, or harvestman. --
Shepherd's pouch, or
Shepherd's purse (Bot.), an annual cruciferous plant (Capsella Bursapastoris) bearing small white flowers and pouchlike pods. See Illust. of Silicle. --
Shepherd's rod, or
Shepherd's staff (Bot.), the small teasel. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Shepherded; p. pr. & vb. n. Shepherding. ] To tend as a shepherd; to guard, herd, lead, or drive, as a shepherd. [ Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

White, fleecy clouds . . . [ 1913 Webster ]

Shepherded by the slow, unwilling wind. Shelley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A woman who tends sheep; hence, a rural lass. [ 1913 Webster ]

She put herself into the garb of a shepherdess. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Shepherdias [ NL. So called from John Shepherd, an English botanist. ] (Bot.) A genus of shrubs having silvery scurfy leaves, and belonging to the same family as Elaeagnus; also, any plant of this genus. See Buffalo berry, under Buffalo. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Resembling a shepherd; suiting a shepherd; pastoral. Sir T. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Pastoral life or occupation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little shepherd. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Resembling, or becoming to, a shepherd; pastoral; rustic. [ R. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fragment; -- now used only in composition, as in potsherd. See Shard. [ 1913 Webster ]

The thigh . . . which all in sherds it drove. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who tends or marks swans; as, the royal swanherd of England. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A keeper of swine. [ 1913 Webster ]