Etymology 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.
1
A number of domestic animals assembled together under the watch or ownership of a keeper.
a herd of cattle
a herd of sheep
2 more examples
a herd of goats
The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea.1768, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard:
2
Any collection of animals gathered or travelling in a company.
Zakouma is the last place on Earth where you can see more than a thousand elephants on the move in a single, compact herd.2007 March, J. Michael Fay, “Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma”, in National Geographic, section 47:
Zebras can also be called a herd or a zeal.2019 June 6, “A Gaggle, a Confusion and a Conspiracy - Bizarre Animal Collective Group Names”, in BBC, archived from the original on 01 Apr 2021:
3
Derogatory, Usually A crowd, a mass of people or things; a rabble.
I was never one to follow the herd.
But far more numerous vvas the herd of ſuch, / VVho think too little, and vvho talk too much.1681, [John Dryden], Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem, London: […] J[acob] T[onson] and are to be sold by W. Davis […], →OCLC, page 17:
2 more examples
You can never interest the common herd in the abstract question.1833 June 8, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “(please specify the chapter)”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC:
There were herds of leather sofas and enough computers to ensure that no prospective matriculant or visiting parent could enter a room and not see at least one available keyboard, not even in the dining hall or field house.2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:
Etymology 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.
1
To unite or associate in a herd; to feed or run together, or in company.
Sheep herd on many hills.
The women bunched up in little droves and let their tongues clack, and the men herded together and passed a jug around and, to tell the truth, let their tongues clack too.1953, Janice Holt Giles, The Kentuckians:
1 more example
Any predator that preys on animals that herd or school, has to be able to single out one individual to attack.1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 167:
2
To unite or associate in a herd
3
To manage, care for or guard a herd
He is employed to herd the goats.
4
To associate; to ally oneself with, or place oneself among, a group or company.
I’ll herd among his Friends, and ſeem One of the Number, […]1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act III, scene i, pages 39–40:
"[W]hy, I say, oh stranger, dost thou think that I herd here with barbarians lower than the beasts?"1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
5
To move, or be moved, in a group. (of both animals and people)
On alighting at the station, we were all herded over the footbridge and through a side exit.
Etymology 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.
1
Archaic Someone who keeps a group of domestic animals.
Near-synonym: herdsman
John Dodds, the herd who bode in the place, was standing at the door, and he looked to see who was on the road so late.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
1 more example
Any talent which gives a good new thing to others is a miracle, but commentators have thought it extra miraculous that England's first known poet was an illiterate herd.2000, Alasdair Grey, The Book of Prefaces, Bloomsbury, published 2002, page 38:
Etymology 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.