shepherd
Other forms: shepherds; shepherded; shepherding
A shepherd is a person who herds flocks or groups of animals. If you traveled to Tibet, you might see a yak shepherd.
Shepherd comes from the Old English sceaphierde: sheepherder. Such a person protects sheep from animals that would attack them, keeps them from wandering, and otherwise takes care of the flock. The word is also a verb that describes care of a group — sheep, other animals, even people. You might shepherd your herd of goats, or shepherd your younger siblings through the transition from elementary to middle school.
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a herder of sheep (on an open range); someone who keeps the sheep together in a flocksynonyms: sheepherder, sheepmantypes:shepherdessa woman shepherd
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a clergyman who watches over a group of peopletype of:clergyman, man of the cloth, reverenda member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of a Christian church
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tend as a shepherd, as of sheep or goatstype of:tendhave care of or look after
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watch over like a shepherd, as a teacher of her pupils
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Vocabulary lists containing shepherd
Whether you've been naughty or nice this year, you can still give yourself the gift of vocabulary.
Here's a roundup of some common last names that originated in professions, trades, and other jobs — along with some notable people who bear them. If you have one of these last names, it's possible that one of your ancestors did this kind of work for a living.
Vocabulary from "Beowulf" (translated by by Gummere).