Herd

Podcast 1 · Introduction

Herd

A documentary-style narration: origin, meaning, and feel.

Part of speech

noun and verb

Pronunciation

hurd  /hɜːd/

Definition

As a noun: a large group of animals, especially cattle, kept or moving together; a large crowd of people (often with a suggestion of mindless following). As a verb: to move animals or people together in a group; to look after a herd of animals.

Plain meaning

A herd is a group of animals — typically cattle, elephants, or horses — that live and move together. To herd means to move or manage animals as a group. The noun is also applied to crowds of people, often with the implication that they are moving or thinking together without independent judgment — the herd mentality.

Register

Neutral in animal contexts; pejorative when applied to humans. Herd mentality, following the herd, the bovine herd: each implies that the people described are behaving with less than full human rationality or independence.