herd

herd · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*(s)kerdʰ-“file, row, herd”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*herdō“herd”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*herdu
4. Old English · inherited fromhierd
5. Middle English · inherited fromherde
6. English todayherd

From Middle English herde, heerde, heorde, from Old English hierd, heord (“herd, flock; keeping, care, custody”), from Proto-West Germanic *herdu, from Proto-Germanic *herdō (“herd”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerdʰ- (“file, row, herd”). Cognate with German Herde, Danish hjord, Swedish hjord. Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian herdhe (“nest”) and Serbo-Croatian krdo.

herd · noun, verb²

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hirdijaz
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*hirdī
3. Old English · inherited fromhirde
4. Middle English · inherited fromherde
5. English todayherd

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

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 11th c. A number of domestic animals assembled together under the watch or ownership of a keeper.
• from 13th c. Any collection of animals gathered or travelling in a company.
• from 15th c. A crowd, a mass of people or things; a rabble.