swineherd

/ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd/

//ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd// noun

"swineherd" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“swineherd” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who herds and tends swine, a keeper of swine (pigs).

Corpus desk

Index EN-swineherd · swineherd · English

swineherd · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for swineherd
PropertyValue
Headwordswineherd
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd/
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “swineherd” in English

swineherdfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

swineherd is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A person who herds and tends swine, a keeper of swine (pigs).".

Zero misspellings are on record for swineherd in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English swynherde, from Old English swīnhierde. Cognate with German Schweinehirt. The correct English form is swineherd, spelled S-W-I-N-E-H-E-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who herds and tends swine, a keeper of swine (pigs).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how swineherd appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. But what of that vast number of the human kind who were always in the background? What of the hewers of wood and drawers of water, the swineherds, the shepherds, the carpenters, the hedgers and cobblers?

Etymology

From Middle English swynherde, from Old English swīnhierde. Cognate with German Schweinehirt.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "swineherd"?
"swineherd" is spelled S-W-I-N-E-H-E-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd/.
What does "swineherd" mean?
As a noun, "swineherd" means: A person who herds and tends swine, a keeper of swine (pigs).
How do you pronounce "swineherd"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swineherd" is /ˈswaɪnˌhɜːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "swineherd"?
From Middle English swynherde, from Old English swīnhierde. Cognate with German Schweinehirt. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list