The Collaborative International Dictionary
Shepherd \Shep"herd\, n. [OE. schepherde, schephirde, AS. sce['a]phyrde; sce['a]p sheep + hyrde, hirde, heorde, a herd, a guardian. See Sheep, and Herd.]
A man employed in tending, feeding, and guarding sheep, esp. a flock grazing at large.
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The pastor of a church; one with the religious guidance of others.
Shepherd bird (Zo["o]l.), the crested screamer. See Screamer.
Shepherd dog (Zo["o]l.), a breed of dogs used largely for the herding and care of sheep. There are several kinds, as the collie, or Scotch shepherd dog, and the English shepherd dog. Called also shepherd's dog.
Shepherd dog, a name of Pan.
--Keats.Shepherd kings, the chiefs of a nomadic people who invaded Egypt from the East in the traditional period, and conquered it, at least in part. They were expelled after about five hundred years, and attempts have been made to connect their expulsion with narrative in the book of Exodus.
Shepherd's club (Bot.), the common mullein. See Mullein.
Shepherd's crook, a long staff having the end curved so as to form a large hook, -- used by shepherds.
Shepherd's needle (Bot.), the lady's comb.
Shepherd's plaid, a kind of woolen cloth of a checkered black and white pattern.
Shephered spider (Zo["o]l.), a daddy longlegs, or harvestman.
Shepherd's pouch, or Shepherd's purse (Bot.), an annual cruciferous plant ( Capsella Bursapastoris) bearing small white flowers and pouchlike pods. See Illust. of Silicle.
Shepherd's rod, or Shepherd's staff (Bot.), the small teasel.
WordNet
n. a long staff with one end being hook shaped [syn: crook]
Wikipedia
The shepherd's crook is an important albeit primitive device used by shepherds. Sheep can feed on rough pasture which is unsuitable for cattle or agriculture, including mountainous terrain. Seasonal herding along mountainous routes gave rise to what are now known as drovers' roads. A strong, multi-purpose stick can be used for balance, examining dangerous undergrowth and for defence against attack by predators.
Usage examples of "shepherd's crook".
Each paper has the picture of the new prelate, with his shepherd's crook upraised, his empty face crowned with a rhomboidal fool's cap, and enough upholstery on him to outfit a grand opera company.
He sat with a shepherd's crook and a broad-brimmed hat on the grass beside him, playing happily as a child with a herd of carved wooden sheep.
She held a shepherd's crook, froze like a statue, and looked at Tom with unfocused eyes.
The insignia of kinship, the sceptre, crown, tiara, and shepherd's crook are laid up before Anu in heaven.
Maybe he was really leaning on the elaborate crozier, the very ornate shepherd's crook that is a bishop's staff of office.
The monks of the Holy Regiment of the Shepherd's Crook, who served as customs agents inside the ship, permitted no unauthorized persons to debark.
The final quarter of the moon had narrowed to the curved silver of a shepherd's crook, a cloud like a wisp of cotton caught in its crescent.
She was dressed as a Terran shepherdess, and coquettishly held a jeweled shepherd's crook.
But always the Shepherd's crook or the Shepherd's unseen whip stops them.
Above his head, the shepherd's crook was worked in brilliant lacquer on a pure white disc.
In the anteroom, his pinch-faced secretary, Balwer, leaped to his feet with a fussy recitation of papers awaiting the Lord Captain's signature, but Niall's attention was on the tall man who rose easily from one of the chairs against the wall, a crimson shepherd's crook behind the golden sun on his cloak and three golden knots of rank below.
Jaichim Carridin's cloak bore a golden sunburst on the breast, with four golden knots below and a crimson shepherd's crook behind.
The Lady's gang carried censers on the end of three-foot metal rods, while their rivals held similar rods bent into the shape of a shepherd's crook.
Of the variety capable of projecting a shepherd's crook across a street and right up Boy Blue's bottom.