# hird

> English word · Noun · frequency rank #70,746

## Definitions
1. In Norwegian history, an informal retinue of personal armed companions, hirdmen or housecarls.
2. The formal royal court household.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Norwegian hird, from Old Norse hirð, a borrowing from Old English hīred, hēored (“family, household”), from Proto-West Germanic *hīwarād (“relationship; family”), equivalent to hewe + rede. Cognate with German Heirat (“wedding”).

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