goatherd

noun

goat·​herd ˈgōt-ˌhərd How to pronounce goatherd (audio)
: a person who tends goats

Examples of goatherd in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This creature, native to Syria and other parts of the Middle East, comes with a face only a goatherd could love. Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 Devastated by her husband’s death, young widow Trudy escapes to its Blue Mountains and falls for a taciturn goatherd imbued by the highlands’ mysticism. Pablo Sandoval, Variety, 1 Aug. 2023 Chapters are organized around journeys, in which Finlay, an Englishwoman, goes as far afield as Leh, in Kashmir, to speak with a pashmina goatherd, and Papua New Guinea, to watch Maisin women paint tapa, a cloth made from bark. The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 The goatherd has lived a humble existence away from his wife and three now-adult and college-educated daughters for 21 years. Clara Germani, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Nov. 2020 Next to the highway, always the signs of old Mexico, goatherds shuffled in the tall grass beyond the guardrails, the goats kicking up dust. Paul Theroux, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2019 The absence of shepherds, goatherds, and farmers has left forest lands overgrown, allowing fires to spread and burn faster. Raphael Minder, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2019 So far, about 40 to 50 shepherd and goatherds are signed up, along with nearly 11,000 goats, Minder reports. Rachael Lallensack, Smithsonian, 19 Aug. 2019 Should the land revert to the goatherds who previously lived there? Philip Brandes, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'goatherd.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English goteherd, from Old English gāthyrd

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of goatherd was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near goatherd

Cite this Entry

“Goatherd.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/goatherd. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

goatherd

noun
goat·​herd ˈgōt-ˌhərd How to pronounce goatherd (audio)
: a person who tends goats

More from Merriam-Webster on goatherd

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!