Introduction

By Patreon request! This year, N7 day is a Friday, so we've got Shepard. I'm Word Family Friday, and this is my favorite Indo-European root on the Citadel.

This root appears in many forms in Germanic and Balto-Slavic, but has only marginal/uncertain presence outside those two branches.

(Family of sheep not included ... it's a huge mess!)

Teaser

Sheppard, Oxnard

Full Text

• Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰ- row, herd

  • Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰos action/result noun

    • Balto-Slavic *kerdas

      • Baltic

        • West Baltic

          • Old Prussian kērdan time
      • Slavic *čẽrdъ turn, sequence Slavic first palatalization, not from *ḱ-

        • East Slavic

          • Russian черёд čerjod turn, course
  • Proto-Indo-European *kordʰos

    • Illyric

      • Proto-Albanian *škerdā

        • Albanian herdhe nest ^[2]

          • Albanian çuherdhe

            • Albanian çerdhe nest, home, daycare, litter of animals, word family

              • Albanian çerdhukël lark
      • Illyrian *skerd-

        • Illyrian *Skerdilaidas? personal name: Herd-Leader??

          • Classical Greek Σκερδιλαΐδας Skerdilaïdas an Illyrian personal name
    • Celtic

      • Brythonic *korð

        • Welsh cordd tribe, clan, family

          • Welsh corlan pen, enclosure, sheepfold
    • Indo-Iranian *ćárdʰas as if *ḱordʰos, which the Balto-Slavic contradicts ^[1]

      • Indo-Aryan *śárdʰas

        • Sanskrit 𑀰𑀭𑁆𑀥𑀂 śardhaḥ शर्धः multitude, troop
      • Iranian

        • Avestan 𐬯𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬀 sarəδa kind, type, breed
  • Proto-Indo-European *kordʰus?

    • Hellenic

      • Classical Greek κόρθυς kórthus heap, pile, sheaf
  • Proto-Indo-European *kr̥dʰós

    • Balto-Slavic *kurdá

      • Slavic *kъrdo

        • South Slavic

          • Macedonian крдо krdo herd
          • Serbo-Croatian krdo / крдо herd
          • Romanian cârd herd, flock, swarm
        • West Slavic

          • Polish kierda boar, hog
        • Slavic *kъrdelь

          • West Slavic

            • Slovak kŕdeľ flock

              • Polish kierdel flock of sheep
  • Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰéh₂

    • Balto-Slavic *kerdāˀ row, sequence, herd

      • Slavic *čērdà file, herd Slavic first palatalization, not from *ḱ-

        • East Slavic череда čereda

          • Russian череда čereda train, procession, sequence, time, turn
          • Ukrainian череда čereda

            • Polish czereda crowd, host, pack
            • Yiddish טשערעדע tsherede herd
        • South Slavic

          • Old Church Slavonic чрѣда črěda flock, herd

            • Russian чреда sequence, turn
            • Romanian cireadă herd, flock, drove
          • Hungarian csorda herd

            • Romanian ciurdă herd, flock
          • Serbo-Croatian čredo / чредо flock, herd
        • West Slavic

          • Czech třída class (most meanings), classroom, avenue
          • Polish trzoda herd, crowd
    • Germanic *herdō herd

      • East Germanic

        • Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰 hairda herd
      • North Germanic

        • Old Norse hjǫrð herd

          • Old East Norse

            • Danish hjord herd
          • Old West Norse

            • Icelandic hjörð herd, flock
      • West Germanic *herdu herd

        • Old English hierd / heord herd

          • Middle English herde / heerd herd, flock, swarm

            • English herd
        • Frankish *herda

          • Middle Dutch herde
          • Old French herde herd

            • Middle French harde

              • French harde herd, pack
        • Old High German herta

          • Middle High German hërt

            • German Herde herd, flock
  • Proto-Indo-European *kerdʰh₂yós herder

    • Baltic

      • East Baltic

        • Lithuanian skerdžius / kerdžius shepherd ^[2]

          • Polish skierdź shepherd, herdsman (dialectal)
      • Germanic *hirdijaz herder

        • East Germanic

          • Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌴𐌹𐍃 hairdeis herdsman, pastor
        • North Germanic

          • Old Norse hirðir shepherd

            • Old East Norse

              • Danish hyrde herder, herdsman, shepherd
            • Old West Norse

              • Icelandic hirðir shepherd
        • West Germanic *hirdī herdsman, herder

          • Old English hierde herdsman, guardian, keeper

            • Middle English herde herdsman, herder, ruler, guide

              • English herd
              • Middle English oxeherde oxherd

                • English oxherd
            • Old English māþmhierde treasurer
            • Old English oxanhierde oxherd, oxherder

              • Middle English oxeherde oxherd

                • English oxherd
              • Middle English Oxnaherde occupational surname: Oxherd

                • English Oxnard
          • Frankish *hirdi
          • Old High German hirti shepherd, herdsman

            • Middle High German

              • German Hirt / Hirte herdsman, herder, shepherd
          • West Germanic *skāpahirdī sheep-herder

            • Old English sċēaphierde

              • Middle English schepherde

                • English shepherd
                • English Shepard / Sheppard / Shepperd / Shepherd
            • Old High German

              • German Schafhirte shepherd

Visual

Collected English words

herd, herd, shepherd, Sheppard, oxherd, Oxnard

Footnotes

1. ^

   Indo-Iranian *ćárdʰas (appearing in Sanskrit śardhaḥ and Avestan sarəδa) requires a PIE *ḱerdʰ-, which cannot be formally reconciled with all the Balto-Slavic forms that show *kerdʰ-.

2. ^

   Lithuanian has variants kerdžius and skerdžius, which looks like s-mobile, but since no other languages shows the s†, I am assuming for now that this is a Lithuanian innovation, perhaps influence from *(s)ker-: "to cut, to seperate". But Lithuanian is famously conservative, and -*dʰ- is an extremely productive root extension, so *kerdʰ- might actually be *(s)kerdʰ- and might be a derivative of *(s)ker-.

   † Unless Albanian herdhe: "nest" is related. Albanian h- usually reflects PIE *sk-. And then since herdhe implies Proto-Albanian *škerdā, that raises the possibility of a connection in the Illyrian king recorded in Greek as Σκερδιλαΐδας Skerdilaïdas.