The origins of the word “Shepherd”

Seeing as we have our own Shepherd Hut here at Dimpsey, we thought it would be an idea to look at the very beginning and the origin of the word Shepherd. Shepherd – a person who tends to, looks after and guards sheep (the dictionary definition) – originates here in England and is the combination of the words sheep and herd.

From Old English to English in the present day, the word has seen a few alterations both in the spelling and in the pronunciation. The main alteration pattern is through the different eras: scēphyrde, shepherde to shepherd; however, this is not the only way that the word has evolved over time. Depending on where you come from, and the dialect you use, shepherd has also been spelt shepard, sheperd, sheppard and sheppherd.

Although the use of the word has decreased over the years when it comes to talking about the profession, we as a nation see this word popping up constantly as it has been used as a surname, as a name of a certain homely food – Shepherd’s Pie – and of course, you also have your Shepherd’s Huts and that is where Dimpsey comes in 🙂