horde

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horde / hôrd/ • n. 1. chiefly derog. a large group of people: he was surrounded by a horde of tormenting relatives. ∎  an army or tribe of nomadic warriors: Tartar hordes.2. Anthropol. a loosely knit small social group typically consisting of about five families.ORIGIN: mid 16th cent. (originally denoting a tribe or troop of Tartar or other nomads): from Polish horda, from Turkish ordu ‘(royal) camp.’