[herd] n [ME, fr. OE heord; akin to OHG herta herd, MW cordd troop, Lith kerdzius shepherd] (bef. 12c) 1 a: a number of animals of one kind kept together under human control b: a congregation of gregarious wild animals
2. a (1): a group of people usu. having a common bond (2): a large assemblage of like things b: the undistinguished masses: crowd "isolate the individual prophets from the ~ --Norman Cousins" -- herd.like adj
[2]herd vt (13c) 1 a: to gather, lead, or drive as if in a herd "seventy-five boys and girls were ~ed by six or eight teachers --W. A. White" b: to keep or move (animals) together
2: to place in a group ~ vi 1: to assemble or move in a herd
2: to place oneself in a group: associate