- herd (n.)
- Old English heord "herd, flock," from Proto-Germanic *herdo- (cf. Old Norse hjorð, Old High German herta, German Herde, Gothic hairda "herd"), from PIE *herdh- "a row, group" (cf. Sanskrit sardhah "herd, troop," Old Church Slavonic čreda "herd," Greek korthys "heap," Lithuanian kerdŽius "shepherd"). Herd instinct in psychology is first recorded 1908.
- herd (v.)
- mid-13c., “to watch over or herd (livestock);” of animals, “to gather in a herd, to form a flock,” late 14c., from herd (n.). Related: Herded; herding.