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herdsman

[ hurdz-muh n ]
/ ˈhɜrdz mən /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. herd-book,
  2. herder,
  3. herder, johann gottfried von,
  4. herdic,
  5. herding dog,
  6. herdwick,
  7. here,
  8. here and now,
  9. here and there,
  10. here goes

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

Examples from the Web for herdsman

British Dictionary definitions for herdsman

herdsman

/ (ˈhɜːdzmən) /

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper