Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

herdsman

[hurdz-muh n]
See more synonyms for herdsman on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural herds·men.
  1. a herder; the keeper of a herd, especially of cattle or sheep.
  2. (initial capital letter) Astronomy. the constellation Boötes.
Show More

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for herdsman

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • 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.

British Dictionary definitions for herdsman

herdsman

noun plural -men
  1. mainly British a person who breeds, rears, or cares for cattle or (rarely) other livestock in the herdUS equivalent: herder
Show More
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

n.

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.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper