shepherdess
Americannoun
-
a girl or woman who herds sheep.
-
a rural girl.
Gender
See -ess.
Etymology
Origin of shepherdess
First recorded in 1350–1400, shepherdess is from the Middle English word shepherdesse. See shepherd, -ess
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Elizabeth was originally depicted as a shepherdess with a crook and a lamb.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
The Thomas Hudson artwork, believed to show Lady Elizabeth Yorke as a shepherdess, had been on loan to Wimpole for several decades.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2021
But it’s an older character—Bo Peep, a ceramic shepherdess in a yearslong flirtation with Sheriff Woody—who’s the film’s greatest delight and most original creation.
From Slate • Jun. 22, 2019
A shepherdess who heard the voices of saints in the sound of church bells, she led the French army toward decisive victories in the Hundred Years’ War before being tried for heresy, witchcraft and cross-dressing.
From New York Times • Apr. 11, 2018
The hour was almost upon me, so in haste I donned my shepherdess costume.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
