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.
The stories of her dressing as a shepherdess and milking the royal cows are probably no truer than the claim that she said, “Let them eat brioche.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
As the eldest shepherdess, Annar kisses the door of one of the ranches, says a prayer and steps inside carrying a hotplate with burning leaves.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2023
In the celebrated “Alto Giove” from Porpora’s “Polifemo,” Ms. Hallenberg raptly intones Aci’s ravishing prayer of thanksgiving to Jupiter for bestowing on him the shepherdess Galatea.
From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2020
But it’s an older character—Bo Peep, a ceramic shepherdess in a yearslong flirtation with Sheriff Woody—who’s the film’s greatest delight and most original creation.
From Slate • Jun. 22, 2019
She knew that it was ridiculous, but sometimes she felt as if Mary Ann knew something that she didn’t know, that the little shepherdess was keeping some dark and terrible secret.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
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.
