horde
n.a very large group of people or animals that is often noisy or hard to control. You use this word when you want to emphasize how crowded or overwhelming a group feels.
n.a large, often disorganized or unruly group of individuals. Frequently carries a negative or slightly hyperbolic connotation when describing crowds.
“A horde of tourists blocked the entrance to the museum.”
“Every summer, a horde of shoppers descends on the city center for the annual sales.”
“The peaceful village was suddenly overwhelmed by a horde of reporters seeking a statement from the reclusive author.”
Often used with the preposition 'of' followed by a plural noun.
Learners often confuse 'horde' (a large group) with 'hoard' (a hidden store of money or valued objects).
Recorded in English since 1555. From Middle French horde, from German Horde, from Polish horda, from Russian орда́ (ordá, “horde", 'clan, troop'”), probably from Kipchak Turkic (compare Tatar урда (urda, “horde”)), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *ordu (“place of staying of the army, ruler etc.”). Cognates include Turkish ordu (“camp, army”), Mongolian орд (ord, “court, castle, royal compound, camp, horde”) and Kalmyk орда (orda). Doublet of orda and Urdu.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.