Meanings
plural shepherdesses
- datedA female shepherd.
September 2014, New York Film Festival to Revive Paul Grimault’s Animated Classic IndieWire the satirical The King And The Mockingbird follows a chimney sweep and shepherdess on the run from a tyrannical king
3 more examples
I thought it a crime to refuse nature the maintenance of a life much more grievous than death. I changed my* dress for the simple habit of a shepherdess, and embraced this state as my only refuge; since that time all my consolation has been to weep over this grave, which shall be my own.
1763, Select Moral Tales. (The Good Mother, The Shepherdess of the Alps), page 83A Faithful Shepherdess
1778, The Dramatick Works of Beaumont and Fletcher, page 115November 2014, It’s Taken Decades, But the Surreal Animated Film The King and the Mockingbird Is Finally Here Vulture The king is in love with a beautiful shepherdess in a painting on his wall, but she herself is in love with the handsome chimney sweep in the painting beside her.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Middle Englishscheperdesse
- Englishshepherdess
From Middle English scheperdesse, shepperdesse; equivalent to shepherd + -ess.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ποιμενίς
- ποιμενίς (poimenís)female shepherd
Czech pastýřka
- pastýřkafemale shepherd
Dutch schapenhoedster, herderin
- schapenhoedsterfemale shepherd
- herderinfemale shepherd
- herderinnetjefemale shepherd
Esperanto ŝafistino
- ŝafistinofemale shepherd
Finnish paimenetar
- paimenetarfemale shepherd
French bergère, pastourelle
- bergèrefemale shepherd
- pastourellefemale shepherd
German Hirtin, Schäferin
- Hirtinfemale shepherd
- Schäferinfemale shepherd
- Schafhirtinfemale shepherd
Greek ποιμενίδα
- ποιμενίδα (poimenída)female shepherd
Irish banaoire, bantréadaí
- banaoirefemale shepherd
- bantréadaífemale shepherd
Italian pastora, pastrice
- pastorafemale shepherd
- pastricefemale shepherd
Latin pastrix
- pastrixfemale shepherd
Latvian gane
- ganefemale shepherd
Polish pasterka, pastuszka
- pasterkafemale shepherd
- pastuszkafemale shepherd
Portuguese pastora
- pastorafemale shepherd
Romanian ciobăniță, păstoriță
- ciobănițăfemale shepherd
- păstorițăfemale shepherd
Russian пасту́шка
- пасту́шка (pastúška)female shepherd
Yiddish פּאַסטושקע
- פּאַסטושקע (pastushke)female shepherd
Cite this entry
shepherdess. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherdess
“shepherdess.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherdess. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shepherdess,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shepherdess.
Source: shepherdess on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.