Answer: A shepherd refers to a man who herds, tends, guards or feeds several numbers of sheep. Shepherd is a corruption of the Old English sceaphierde (sceap’sheep’ + hierde ‘herder’). Shepherding is among the oldest known occupations, and it is still practiced in agricultural communities all over the world. It is also a crucial component of pastoralist husbandry of animals. Because of the profession’s pervasiveness, many religions, as well as cultures, have metaphorical or symbolical references to it – for example, Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd, or ancestral Greek mythologies highlight shepherds like Daphnis or Endymion. The opposite gender of the noun is shepheress.