noun / verb
shepherd
SHEP-erd/ˈʃepərd/
Someone who guides and protects a flock of sheep.
The shepherd guides the sheep through an open pasture gate.
Etymology
The compound names a sheep-keeper: its second piece denotes the person caring for a flock, not the flock itself. The modern sense preserves that original occupation of tending and guarding sheep.
In context
and on the third day in the afternoon he came up to where a Shepherd was sitting with a flock of sheep and he went up to the shepherd and asked him who the Sheep belonged to
More examples
- The shepherd checks each newborn lamb for signs of illness.
- They shepherd the flock back to the barn before dark.
- Our guide shepherds us safely through the crowded station.
Forms
shepherd · shepherds · shepherded · shepherding
Similar words
- herder
- Tends or moves livestock, not necessarily sheep.
- sheepherder
- Refers specifically to tending sheep, without the figurative guidance sense.