herdsman

[hurdz-muh n]

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noun, plural herds·men.

a herder; the keeper of a herd, especially of cattle or sheep.

(initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Boötes.

Origin of herdsman

1595–1605; herd¹ + 's¹ + -man; compare earlier herdman, Middle English hird-man, Old English hyrdemann

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for herdsman

rancher, herder, cowboy, wrangler, vaquero, cowherd, gaucho, goatherd, sheepherder, buckaroo, cowpuncher, cowhand, cattleman

Examples from the Web for herdsman

Contemporary Examples of herdsman

The years like Great Black Oxen tread the world And God the herdsman goads them on behind.
American Dreams, 1923: Black Oxen by Gertrude Atherton
Nathaniel Rich
March 28, 2013

Historical Examples of herdsman

His dress was that of a herdsman, or possibly of an owner of herds from the northern Galankar.
The Players
Everett B. Cole
Here, herdsman; take my clothes and put them on, and I will put on yours and drive the cows.
Russian Fairy Tales
W. R. S. Ralston
At such a time it is vain for the herdsman to attempt to separate them.
A Hungarian Nabob
Maurus Jkai
Another general term for a herdsman was Looker, whence Luker.
The Romance of Names
Ernest Weekley
Next morning the herdsman said to the young man: 'I have got some other work for you to do.
The Crimson Fairy Book
Various

British Dictionary definitions for herdsman

herdsman

noun plural -men

mainly British a person who breeds, rears, or cares for cattle or (rarely) other livestock in the herdUS equivalent: herder

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for herdsman

Old English heordman, but the word was not common until herd (Old English hierde) in sense "keeper of domestic animals which go in herds" fell from use (cf. shepherd). See herd (n.) + man (n.). Intrusive -s- appeared early 15c., on model of craftsman, etc.