different between cowherd vs shepherd

English

Alternative forms

• cowheard

Etymology

From Middle English couherde, from Old English c?hyrde, equivalent to cow +? herd (“herder”). Doublet of Coward (the surname). Cognate with German Kuhhirte (“cowherd”). Compare shepherd, goatherd, swineherd, etc.

Noun

cowherd (plural cowherds)

1. A person who herds cattle; a cowboy.

Synonyms

• cowherder

Related terms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

• chowder

English

Etymology

From Middle English schepherde, from Old English s??aphierde, a compound of s??ap (“sheep”) and hierde (“herdsman”), equivalent to modern sheep +? herd (“herder”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /???p?d/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???p?d/
• Hyphenation: shep?herd

Noun

shepherd (plural shepherds, feminine shepherdess)

1. A person who tends sheep, especially a grazing flock.

   • It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

2. (figuratively) Someone who watches over, looks after, or guides somebody.
   • 1769, Oxford Standard text, Bible (King James), Psalms 23:1

     The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

3. (figuratively) The pastor of a church; one who guides others in religion.
4. (poetic) A swain; a rustic male lover.

Synonyms

• (one who tends sheep): pastor (now rare), sheepherder

Coordinate terms

• shepherdess

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

shepherd (third-person singular simple present shepherds, present participle shepherding, simple past and past participle shepherded)

1. (transitive) To watch over; to guide.
2. (transitive, Australian rules football) To obstruct an opponent from getting to the ball, either when a teammate has it or is going for it, or if the ball is about to bounce through the goal or out of bounds.

Translations