horde

Meanings

Noun

• A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people (originally Tatars) migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude.
• A large number of people or things.

Verb

• to travel en masse, to flock

Origin

• Recorded in English since 1555. From Middle French horde, from German Horde, from Polish horda, from Russian орда ("horde", 'clan, troop'"), probably from Kipchak Turkic (compare Tatar урда ("horde")), from Proto-Turkic *or- ("army, place of staying of the army, ruler etc."). Cognates include Turkish ordu ("camp, army"), Mongolian орд ("court, castle, royal compound, camp, horde"), Kalmyk орда and English Urdu.