# herald

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhɛɹ.əld/ · frequency rank #7,695

## Definitions
1. A messenger, especially one bringing important news.
2. A harbinger, giving signs of things to come.
3. An official whose speciality is heraldry, especially one between the ranks of pursuivant and king-of-arms
4. A moth of the species Scoliopteryx libatrix.
5. A handbill consisting of an advertisement.

## Etymology
From Latin heraldus, from Middle English herald, herauld, heraud, from Anglo-Norman heraud, from Old French heraut, hiraut (modern French héraut), from Frankish *heriwald, from Proto-Germanic *harjawaldaz, a compound consisting of Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“army”) + *h₂welh₁- (“to be strong”). Doublet of Harold and Harald; compare Walter, which has these elements reversed.

## Easily confused with
- **herd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herald-vs-herd)
- **Herod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herald-vs-herod)
- **Herat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herald-vs-herat)
- **herbal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/herald-vs-herbal)
- **head** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/head-vs-herald)
- **held** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/held-vs-herald)
- **heal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heal-vs-herald)
- **Hera** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hera-vs-herald)
- **heard** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heard-vs-herald)
- **heals** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/heals-vs-herald)
- **Healy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/healy-vs-herald)
- **Harold** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/harold-vs-herald)
- **healed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/healed-vs-herald)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ehrald`, `hearld`, `heradl`, `heraldd`, `heralld`, `herlad`, `herrald`, `hherald`, `hreald`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/herald