shepherdess
Americannoun
-
a girl or woman who herds sheep.
-
a rural girl.
Gender
See -ess.
Etymology
Origin of shepherdess
First recorded in 1350–1400, shepherdess is from the Middle English word shepherdesse. See shepherd, -ess
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In addition, Laura Pontikes donated nearly $250,000 in religious art and furnishings, including $20,000 for an 18th-century scroll depicting the Virgin Mary as the Good Shepherdess, according to a list of vendors provided to AP.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2019
As quickly as you can say “General-clothes-press-inspector-head-superintendent-Goat-legs”—a character in Andersen’s “The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep”—it was seven to nothing, Gold Diggers.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 14, 2015
Between Fox and Shepherdess, he and his readers have aged more than his characters.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
When it does, in some subsequent volume, perhaps the relevance of all that seems diffuse and maundering in Shepherdess will come clear.
From Time Magazine Archive
![]()
Anne, making her way across a sea of polished floor, became aware of the Shepherdess in bed.
From Mistress Anne by Wilson, F. Vaux (Francis Vaux)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.