I. ˈhərd noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English heord; akin to Old High German herta herd, Middle Welsh cordd troop, Lithuanian kerdžius shepherd
Date: before 12th century
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 usually having a common bond
a herd of tourists
(2) : a large assemblage of like things
b. : the undistinguished masses : crowd
isolate the individual prophets from the herd — Norman Cousins
• herd·like -ˌlīk adjective
II. verb
Date: 13th century
transitive verb
1.
a. : to gather, lead, or drive as if in a herd
herd ed the children into the car
b. : to keep or move (animals) together
2. : to place in a group
intransitive verb
1. : to assemble or move in a herd
2. : to place oneself in a group : associate