shepherd

[shep-erd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shepherd ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.

a person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people.

a member of the clergy.

the Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

sheepdog.

verb (used with object)

to tend or guard as a shepherd: to shepherd the flock.

to watch over carefully.

Origin of shepherd

before 1050; Middle English shepherde, Old English scēphyrde. See sheep, herd²

Related formsshep·herd·less, adjectiveshep·herd·like, adjectiveun·der·shep·herd, nounun·shep·herd·ed, adjectiveun·shep·herd·ing, adjective

Synonyms for shepherd

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shepherd ON THESAURUS.COM

2. protector, guardian, defender, keeper.

Shepherd

[shep-erd]

noun

a male given name.

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

Related Words for shepherd

herdsman, herder, watcher, teacher, caretaker, watch, pastor, guide, guard, minister, escort, tender, attendant, protector, leader, pilot, shepherdess, pastoralist

Examples from the Web for shepherd

Contemporary Examples of shepherd

In the video, the bus is getting searched by a cop with a German shepherd.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish
M.L. Nestel
December 22, 2014
Then when we arrive at his flat in Shepherd's Bush following the escape, perhaps there ought to be remnants of the ladder.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014
Yes, your German Shepherd Buster can wear his own health tracker.
Nothing Says I Love You Like Data
The Daily Beast
December 8, 2014
After killing the Egyptian he runs away for years, becomes a shepherd, starts a family.
Christian Bale: One Man's Moses Is Another Man's Terrorist
Candida Moss, Joel Baden
December 7, 2014
Rick must shepherd his newborn daughter, Judith, through this world of peril.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero
Regina Lizik
October 28, 2014

Historical Examples of shepherd

The doctor is nearing them rapidly; they can imagine the shepherd's tartan.
A Doctor of the Old School, Part 3
Ian Maclaren
One of the months in the "Shepherd's Calendar" is composed in it.
A Dish Of Orts
George MacDonald
But, oh, shepherd, what avails it to live in hopeless misery?
Imogen
William Godwin
Grief is not an inmate of the plain; the hours of the shepherd are sped in gaiety and mirth.
Imogen
William Godwin
You too are young and uninured even to the misfortunes of the shepherd.
Imogen
William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for shepherd

shepherd

noun

a person employed to tend sheepFemale equivalent: shepherdess Related adjectives: bucolic, pastoral

a person, such as a clergyman, who watches over or guides a group of people

verb (tr)

to guide or watch over in the manner of a shepherd

Australian rules football to prevent opponents from tackling (a member of one's own team) by blocking their path

Word Origin for shepherd

from Old English sceaphirde. See sheep, herd ²

Shepherd

noun

astronomy a small moon of (e.g.) Saturn orbiting close to the rings and partly responsible for ring stability

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 shepherd

Old English sceaphierde, from sceap "sheep" (see sheep) + hierde "herder," from heord "a herd" (see herd (n.)). Cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schaphirde, Middle High German schafhirte, German dialectal Schafhirt. Shepherds customarily were buried with a tuft of wool in hand, to prove on Doomsday their occupation and be excused for often missing Sunday church. Shepherd's pie is recorded from 1877.

1790, "to herd sheep," from shepherd (n.). The metaphoric sense of "watch over or guide" is first recorded 1820. Related: Shepherded; shepherding.