hayward - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From hay +‎ ward.

• IPA^(key): /ˈheɪwəɹd/
• Rhymes: -eɪwə(ɹ)d

hayward (plural haywards)

1. (historical) One whose occupation involved overseeing the sowing and harvesting of crops as well as protecting the crops from stray people or animals.

   • 1877, William Oldnall Russell, Charles Sprengel Greaves, George Sharswood, A Treatise on Crimes and Misdemeanors, page 571:

     […] it was held that this was not indictable, for till the horse got to the pound the hayward was merely acting as the servant of the owner of the land […]

   • 1881, The Antiquary, volume III, page 255:

     The hayward at the same place had an acre of the lord's corn in autumn, always in a certain part of the field.

   • 1890, Jean Jules Jusserand, English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages, page 24:

     A horn, such as our man wears, was always worn by a hayward, who used to blow it to warn off people from straying in the crops.

• Haywards Heath

• Hardway