Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
HERD
I. noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English heord; akin to Old High German herta herd, Middle Welsh cordd troop, Lithuanian kerdžius shepherd Date: before 12th century
1. a number of animals of one kind kept together under human control, a congregation of gregarious wild animals,
2. a. a group of people usually having a common bond , a large assemblage of like things, the undistinguished masses ; crowd , herdlike adjective
II. verb
Date: 13th century
transitive verb
1. to gather, lead, or drive as if in a herd , to keep or move (animals) together, to place in a group, intransitive verb to assemble or move in a herd, to place oneself in a group ; associate