hird

H4I1R1D2

noun

In Norwegian history, an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls.

OriginNorwegian hird ← Old Norse hirð ← Old English hīred →
UncommonScrabble 8
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

hird1

nounhird (plural hirds)

plural hirds

  1. historicalIn Norwegian history, an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls.
  2. broadlyThe formal royal court household.

Hird2

proper nounHird (plural Hirds)

plural Hirds

  1. A surname originating as an occupation for a herdsman.

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*hīwarād“relationship; family”
  2. Old Englishhīred
  3. Old Norsehirð
  4. Norwegianhird
  5. Englishhird

Borrowed from Norwegian hird, from Old Norse hirð, a borrowing from Old English hīred, hēored (“family, household”), from Proto-West Germanic *hīwarād (“relationship; family”), equivalent to hewe + rede. Cognate with German Heirat (“wedding”).

More words from Norwegian, Old Norse, Old English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

hird. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hird

MLA

“hird.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hird. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hird,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hird.

Source: hird on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.