Was the meaning of "Kurd" = Shepherd in the 12th-century?

In a 12th-century Persian Sufi hagiography, the Kurd-label is credited to a shepherd in 11th-century Khorasan. The Kurd-label, applied to "average" individuals, in this case a shepherd, appeared in historical Khorasan before the Safavid period: 

Hasan-e Mo'addeb, God have mercy on him, has related:

"For several days I had not brought any meat to the kanaqah, for I had no way to pay for it. Meanwhile, the darvishes were de-manding meat.

One day while our Shaikh Abu Sa'id, God sanctify his awe-some soul, was speaking before an assembly, he said to me: 'Oh Hasan, rise and go before that young man.'

And the Shaikh pointed with his finger.

I went to the young man and the Shaikh said: 'Oh young fellow, give him the gold coin you have fastened on your belt which is worth one dinar and a habba.

The youth took hold of his belt and gave me the coin. When I brought the coin to the Shaikh, he said: 'Go to the neighborhood of Aspris. You will find a young butcher there, holding in his hands a fattened lamb that he's taken much trouble over. Buy it for a dinar and then go with him to the dunghill and throw the lamb into the rubbish pit there, so that the beasts of that pit may grease their jaws with it.'

I set out and all along the way I was harboring disapproval within myself, thinking: 'For several days there's been no meat in the kanaqah and the Shaikh is throwing a specially raised, fattened lamb to the dogs!'

When I arrived at Aspris, it was just as the Shaikh had said. I asked about buying the lamb and the butcher said: Though I'm offered five and a half dangs, I won't sell it for less then one dinar!'

I gave him the coin I had and bought the lamb. Then taking the young butcher with me, I threw the lamb to the dogs. A crowd stood there, watching what I was doing. Then the young man broke into tears and said: Take me to the Shaikh.' 

When I brought him before the Shaikh, he fell at the Shaikh's feet and said: 'Oh Shaikh, I have repented.'

I was standing in the Shaikh's presence and the Shaikh said to me: 'Oh Hasan, for four months now this young man has taken a lot of trouble over that lamb. Last night the lamb died but the young man refused to throw it away. I could not allow this carcass to reach the mouth of a Muslim.

This man has attained his goal. Moreover, those dogs have greased their bellies. Why then should you harbor disapproval? These darvishes are pure and eat nothing but what is pure. What is meant for them shall arrive.' The young man who had given the gold coin, was still sitting there. He was a Kurd and a shepherd. He rose to his feet and said: 'Oh Shaikh, I possess licit sheep. I will give twenty castrated sheep on behalf of the Sufis.' The Shaikh said: 'All this was necessary, so that first the dogs could grease their jaws and this man could attain his goal, and then you could have licit meat."

Kadkani, the text's editor, believe that "Kurd" means shepherd in this work. The evidence relies on the association in many texts between "the Kurd" and being a shepherd. This text provides good evidence against such an assumption. The text itself is evidence against Kadkani's view. The text states that the individual was both a Kurd AND a shepherd, which clearly suggests that each word had two different meanings. It is unnatural to suggest that the meanings are interchangeable, because it is equivalent to saying in everyday speech: "BMW is a car and an automobile". Although technically viable, the premise is spiritually blind. 

However, there is a subtle point to be made about the historical Kurd-label. Although the meaning was not shepherd/nomad in any interesting instances, this does not imply that the Kurd-label was limited to what is now recognized as Kurdish linguistically in the twenty-first century. In certain cases, the term was broader than this, and I use the broadest premodern application of the label in my reflections on premodern historical works. 

    

The work: https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asrar-al-tawhid-fi-maqamat-al-sayk-abi-said-principal-source-for-the-life-and-teachings-of-the-well-known-mystic/

Kurdish language during the Mamluk period

Qansuh II al-Ghawri, the Mamluk sultan, is said to have had knowledge of several languages. In one source, the sultan enumerated the languages he had knowledge of. To refer to 'Kurdish' as a linguistic entity was rare in the Mamluk period. What may explain this development? Kurdish, as a linguistic entity, would usually be put under other generic labels prior to and during the Mamluk era. What may explain the departure in this source is that it's matching the elite representation of the Mamluk Sultanate. So why is al Jarkasi, al Kurdi and Asi mentioned? These groups were overrepresented in elite circles, which led to the specification of the languages spoken by them, and the interest of the sultan to learn the different languages of the elite despite the absence of a long & popular written tradition for some of these languages:

Firstly (the sultan understood) Arabic, secondly the Persian language, thirdly the Turkish language (lisān al-turkī), fourthly Kurdish (al-kurdī), fifthly Armenian (al-armanī), sixthly Circassian (al-jarkasī), seventhly Abkhazian and Ossetic (Asī).

The handsome Kurdish governor of Salkhad (12th-century)

Ibn al-Qalanisi, the 12th century chronicler's biography of the Kurdish governor of Salkhad (southern Syria):

(12th January to 30th December, 1160)

The first day of this year was Tuesday [12th January]. On the eve of Friday, of Safar of this year died the amir Mujahid al-Din Buzān b. Māmīn, one of the principal amirs of the Kurds, and of high consideration in the kingdom (God's mercy upon him), reputed for bravery, gallantry and liberality, assiduous in expending gifts and alms, handsome of face, and of a cheerful countenance when accosted. He was borne from his house at the Gardens Gate to the mosque for the prayer, and thence to the College called by his name, where he was buried the same day. There was not one but wept for him and sorrowed at his loss, because of his generous actions and praiseworthy qualities.

Ibn Munqidh offers a humorous anecdote about Buzan. It provides a glimpse into some of the typical office chores:

§ The Blind Men of Damascus

I was present in Damascus when a dispute occurred between the blind men of the city and a man who used to administer their endowment, known as Ibn al-Ba'labakki. They had brought the matter before the lord of Damascus, Shihab al-Din Mahmud³¹ (may God have mercy upon him), numerous times, and so he said to the amir Mujahid al-Din Buzan ibn Mamin, 'Mujahid al-Din, by God, take these people off my hands. Call them together in your residence and summon their supervisor at the same time and settle this affair.'

'To hear is to obey,' he replied.

Mujahid al-Din then said to me, 'Please, attend with us.'

And so we gathered in a great hall in a residence, and the supervisor Ibn al-Ba'labakki was present as was the former supervisor, who was called Ibn al-Farrash, and also present were about three hundred blind men, carrying their leader. They entered the hall, each one of them with a staff in his hand at his side. Then the discussion began, some of them preferring to talk with the first supervisor, Ibn al-Farrash, some of them preferring Ibn al-Ba'labakki. They contended and strove with one another for a while without any progress, due to their noise and their great number. Then they turned violent, and close to three hundred staves were raised in the hall, all in the hands of blind men who did not know whom they were hitting. The uproar and the shouting became so loud that I regretted being there. But the two supervisors gave in on the matter, the dissent between them quietened down and we resolved the affair according to what the blind men wished. We could hardly believe it when the blind men finally left.