couherde

Middle English

Alternative forms

• coward, cowherd, cowherde, kowherde

Etymology

Inherited from Old English cūhyrde; equivalent to cou (“cow”) +‎ herde (“herder”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkuːˌheːrd(ə)/, /ˈkuːhɛrd(ə)/, /ˈkuːard(ə)/

Noun

couherde

1. cowherd (herder of cows)
   • c. 1335-1361, William of Palerne (MS. King's College 13), folio 4, recto, lines 3-4; republished as W. W. Skeat, editor, The Romance of William of Palerne‎^[1], London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, →OCLC, page 6:

     Hit bi fel in þat foreſt · þere faſt by ſide / þer woned a wel old cherl · þat was a couherde

     It so happened that right there in that forest / there was a very old peasant; a cowherd.

Descendants

• English: cowherd

References

• “cǒu-hē̆rde, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.