Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Sheppard” come from?

Sheppard comes from Middle English schepherde, from Old English sċēaphierde, combining Old English sċēap (sheep) and hierde (herder), ultimately derived from Proto-Germanic hirdijaz and herdō, tracing back to Proto-Indo-European kerdʰ-.

Ancestry of “Sheppard”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishschepherdeshepherd
2Old Englishsċēaphierde—
3Old Englishsċēapsheep
4Proto-West Germanicskāpsheep
5Proto-Germanicskapąshape
6Proto-Germanicskapjanąto make, to create; to shape
7Proto-Indo-Europeanskab-to cut, split, hew, shape; to cut, split, carve,...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European skab- →