Meanings
plural goatherds
- A person who herds, tends goats.
Looking up from the center of Rmaich, a Christian town lodged on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, a sun-wizened Lebanese goatherd points to a cluster of pine trees on a ridge.
2024, Scott Peterson, ‘This is not our war.’ Lebanese Christians caught between Hezbollah and Israel., in: The Christian Science Monitor, June 12 20241 more example
'Oh, yes. A man was brought to us about a year ago. There'd been a big storm along the southern sector of the Taklamakan. It went on for four or five days. This man was a goatherd from Tongguzbasti. He'd gone out into the desert in search of tamarisk, along with a camel for the load. At midday he had some bread and water and lay down for a sleep. When he woke there was a storm the like of which he'd never seen before. There was nothing for it but to hunker down and make the best of it; but at some point - whether it was day or night he couldn't say - he found himself on his feet, shouting and screaming at the noise, and walking for what must have been miles.'
2000, Daniel Easterman, Incarnation (Fiction), →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 411Synonyms: goatherder, goatkeeper
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who herds, tends goats.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishgāthierde
- Middle Englishgoteherd
- Englishgoatherd
From Middle English goteherd, from Old English gāthierde, equivalent to goat + herd (“herder”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek αἰπόλος, χιμαιροφύλαξ
- αἰπόλος (aipólos)person who herds, tends goats
- χιμαιροφύλαξ (khimairophúlax)person who herds, tends goats
Basque ahuntzain
- ahuntzainperson who herds, tends goats
Catalan cabrer, cabrera
- cabrerperson who herds, tends goats
- cabreraperson who herds, tends goats
Esperanto kapristo, kapristino
- kapristoperson who herds, tends goats
- kapristinoperson who herds, tends goats
Finnish vuohipaimen
- vuohipaimenperson who herds, tends goats
French chevrier, chevrière
- chevrierperson who herds, tends goats
- chevrièreperson who herds, tends goats
German Ziegenhirt, Ziegenhirte
- Ziegenhirtperson who herds, tends goats
- Ziegenhirteperson who herds, tends goats
- Ziegenhirtinperson who herds, tends goats
Greek γιδοβοσκός, αιπόλος
- γιδοβοσκός (gidovoskós)person who herds, tends goats
- αιπόλος (aipólos)person who herds, tends goats
Hindi गड़ेरिया, गड़रिया
- गड़ेरिया (gaṛeriyā)person who herds, tends goats
- गड़रिया (gaṛriyā)person who herds, tends goats
Italian capraio, capraia
- capraioperson who herds, tends goats
- capraiaperson who herds, tends goats
Latin caprārius, caprāria
- caprāriusperson who herds, tends goats
- caprāriaperson who herds, tends goats
Persian بزبان
- بزبان (bozbân)person who herds, tends goats
Polish koziarz, koziarka
- koziarzperson who herds, tends goats
- koziarkaperson who herds, tends goats
- pastuch kózperson who herds, tends goats
- pastuszka kózperson who herds, tends goats
- pasterz kózperson who herds, tends goats
- pasterka kózperson who herds, tends goats
Portuguese cabreiro, cabreira
- cabreiroperson who herds, tends goats
- cabreiraperson who herds, tends goats
Romanian căprar, păstor
- căprarperson who herds, tends goats
- păstorperson who herds, tends goats
Russian козопа́с
- козопа́с (kozopás)person who herds, tends goats
Spanish cabrero, cabrera
- cabreroperson who herds, tends goats
- cabreraperson who herds, tends goats
Swedish getherde
- getherdeperson who herds, tends goats
Turkish çoban
- çobanperson who herds, tends goats
Cite this entry
goatherd. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goatherd
“goatherd.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goatherd. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “goatherd,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/goatherd.
Source: goatherd on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.