Hogherd

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who tends and manages a herd of hogs or pigs; someone responsible for the care, feeding, and guidance of swine
2. An individual engaged in the occupation of raising and watching over groups of pigs for farming or husbandry purposes
3. One who oversees the daily activities and well-being of a swine herd, including feeding, moving, and maintaining the animals' health

Etymology: "Hogherd" is a compound of two plain English words: "hog," meaning a pig, and "herd," meaning a person who looks after livestock. Its Middle English form, "hoggeherde," joined those two elements in the same way, so the word simply describes the job of watching over a group of swine. The first half needs little explanation, but the second is worth a closer look. "Herd" comes from Old English "hierde," a word for a keeper of animals, which is related to "herd" in the sense of a group of animals. The -erd ending marks the person who does the herding, so the old English sense of the term was the keeper rather than the animals themselves. Because the word is a transparent compound, its meaning has barely changed since it was first formed. A hogherd is still exactly what the two parts suggest: the one who tends the pigs.

Synonyms: swineherd, pigherd, herdsman, herder, herdswoman