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
- 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, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1867, OCLC 150454844, 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.
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Descendants
- English: cowherd
References
- “cǒu-hē̆rde, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.