1. a person employed to maintain fences and hedges and to impound stray livestock in a rural area
Usage: archaic; chiefly British
2. a common surname, often derived from the occupational term for a person who tended hedges and fences
Usage: proper noun usage

Examples

• The hayward was responsible for keeping the village fences in good repair.
• In medieval times, the hayward would round up any cattle that wandered into the common fields.
• The position of hayward was an important one in rural English communities.
• Hayward is a surname found throughout England and North America.
• The hayward's duties included maintaining the hedgerows that divided the farmland.