Sheetful - Shepherdia

Prev Next

2. To expand, as a sheet.
[ Webster]

The star shot flew from the welkin blue,
As it fell from the sheeted sky.
J. R. Drake.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To sheet home (Naut.), to haul upon a sheet until the sail is as flat, and the clew as near the wind, as possible.
[ Webster]

Sheet anchor (?). [OE. scheten to shoot, AS. sceótan; cf. OE. shoot anchor. See , v. t.] 1. (Naut.) A large anchor stowed on shores outside the waist of a vessel; -- called also waist anchor. See the Note under .
[ Webster]

2. Anything regarded as a sure support or dependence in danger; the best hope or refuge.
[ Webster]

Sheet cable (?). (Naut.) The cable belonging to the sheet anchor.
[ Webster]

Sheet chain (?). (Naut.) A chain sheet cable.
[ Webster]

Sheetful (?), n.; pl. Sheetfuls (�). Enough to fill a sheet; as much as a sheet can hold.
[ Webster]

Sheeting, n. 1. Cotton or linen cloth suitable for bed sheets. It is sometimes made of double width.
[ Webster]

2. (Hydraul. Engin.) A lining of planks or boards (rarely of metal) for protecting an embankment.
[ Webster]

3. The act or process of forming into sheets, or flat pieces; also, material made into sheets.
[ Webster]

Sheik (?), n. [Ar. sheikh, shaykh, a venerable old man, a chief, fr. shākha to grow or be old.] The head of an Arab family, or of a clan or a tribe; also, the chief magistrate of an Arab village. The name is also applied to Mohammedan ecclesiastics of a high grade. [Written also scheik, shaik, sheikh.]
[ Webster]

{ Sheil (shēl), Sheiling, } n. See .
[ Webster]

Shekel (?), n. [Heb. shegel, fr. shāgal to weigh.] 1. An ancient weight and coin used by the Jews and by other nations of the same stock.
[ Webster]

☞ A common estimate makes the shekel equal in weight to about 130 grains for gold, 224 grains for silver, and 450 grains for copper, and the approximate values of the coins are (gold) $5.00, (silver) 60 cents, and (copper half shekel), one and one half cents.
[ Webster]

2. pl. A jocose term for money.
[ Webster]

Shekinah (?), n. [Heb Talmud shekīnāh, fr. shākan to inhabit.] The visible majesty of the Divine Presence, especially when resting or dwelling between the cherubim on the mercy seat, in the Tabernacle, or in the Temple of Solomon; -- a term used in the Targums and by the later Jews, and adopted by Christians. [Written also Shechinah.] Dr. W. Smith (Bib. Dict.)
[ Webster]

Sheld (?), a. [OE., fr. sheld a shield, probably in allusion to the ornamentation of shields. See .] Variegated; spotted; speckled; piebald. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

{ Sheldafle (?), Sheldaple (?), } n. [Perhaps for sheld dapple. Cf. .] (Zoöl.) A chaffinch. [Written also sheldapple, and shellapple.]
[ Webster]

Sheldfowl (?), n. (Zoöl.) The common sheldrake. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Sheldrake (?), n. [Sheld + drake.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of large Old World ducks of the genus Tadorna and allied genera, especially the European and Asiatic species. (Tadorna cornuta syn. Tadorna tadorna), which somewhat resembles a goose in form and habit, but breeds in burrows.
[ Webster]

☞ It has the head and neck greenish black, the breast, sides, and forward part of the back brown, the shoulders and middle of belly black, the speculum green, and the bill and frontal bright red. Called also shelduck, shellduck, sheldfowl, skeelduck, bergander, burrow duck, and links goose.
[ Webster]

☞ The Australian sheldrake (Tadorna radja) has the head, neck, breast, flanks, and wing coverts white, the upper part of the back and a band on the breast deep chestnut, and the back and tail black. The chestnut sheldrake of Australia (Casarca tadornoides) is varied with black and chestnut, and has a dark green head and neck. The ruddy sheldrake, or Braminy duck (C. rutila), and the white-winged sheldrake (C. leucoptera), are related Asiatic species.
[ Webster]

2. Any one of the American mergansers.
[ Webster]

☞ The name is also loosely applied to other ducks, as the canvasback, and the shoveler.
[ Webster]

Shelduck (?), n. [Sheld variegated + duck.] (Zoöl.) The sheldrake. [Written also shellduck.]
[ Webster]

Shelf (?), n.; pl. Shelves (#). [OE. shelfe, schelfe, AS. scylfe; akin to G. schelfe, Icel. skjālf. In senses 2 & 3, perhaps a different word (cf. , v. i.).] 1. (Arch.) A flat tablet or ledge of any material set horizontally at a distance from the floor, to hold objects of use or ornament.
[ Webster]

2. A sand bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks, rendering the water shallow, and dangerous to ships.
[ Webster]

On the tawny sands and shelves. Milton.
[ Webster]

On the secret shelves with fury cast. Dryden.
[ Webster]

3. (Mining) A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat, projecting layer of rock.
[ Webster]

4. (Naut.) A piece of timber running the whole length of a vessel inside the timberheads. D. Kemp.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To lay on the shelf , to lay aside as unnecessary or useless; to dismiss; to discard.
[ Webster]

Shelfy (?), a. 1. Abounding in shelves; full of dangerous shallows. “A shelfy coast.” Dryden.
[ Webster]

2. Full of strata of rock. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

The tillable fields are in some places . . . so shelfy that the corn hath much ado to fasten its root. Carew.
[ Webster]

Shell (?), n. [OE. shelle, schelle, AS. scell, scyll; akin to D. shel, Icel. skel, Goth. skalja a tile, and E. skill. Cf. of fishes, , .] 1. A hard outside covering, as of a fruit or an animal. Specifically: (a) The covering, or outside part, of a nut; as, a hazelnut shell. (b) A pod. (c) The hard covering of an egg.
[ Webster]

Think him as a serpent's egg, . . .
And kill him in the shell.
Shak.
[ Webster]

(d) (Zoöl.) The hard calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates. In some mollusks, as the cuttlefishes, it is internal, or concealed by the mantle. Also, the hard covering of some vertebrates, as the armadillo, the tortoise, and the like. (e) (Zoöl.) Hence, by extension, any mollusks having such a covering.
[ Webster]

2. (Mil.) A hollow projectile, of various shapes, adapted for a mortar or a cannon, and containing an explosive substance, ignited with a fuse or by percussion, by means of which the projectile is burst and its fragments scattered. See .
[ Webster]

3. The case which holds the powder, or charge of powder and shot, used with breechloading small arms.
[ Webster]

4. Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior structure, regarded as not complete or filled in; as, the shell of a house.
[ Webster]

5. A coarse kind of coffin; also, a thin interior coffin inclosed in a more substantial one. Knight.
[ Webster]

6. An instrument of music, as a lyre, -- the first lyre having been made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise shell.
[ Webster]

When Jubal struck the chorded shell. Dryden.
[ Webster]

7. An engraved copper roller used in print works.
[ Webster]

8. pl. The husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is often used as a substitute for chocolate, cocoa, etc.
[ Webster]

9. (Naut.) The outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve.
[ Webster]

10. A light boat the frame of which is covered with thin wood or with paper; as, a racing shell.
[ Webster]

11. Something similar in form or action to an ordnance shell; specif.: (a) (Fireworks) A case or cartridge containing a charge of explosive material, which bursts after having been thrown high into the air. It is often elevated through the agency of a larger firework in which it is contained. (b) (Oil Wells) A torpedo.
[Webster Suppl.]

12. A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is ground to shape.
[Webster Suppl.]

13. A gouge bit or shell bit.
[Webster Suppl.]

Coloq. Message shell , a bombshell inside of which papers may be put, in order to convey messages. -- Coloq. Shell bit , a tool shaped like a gouge, used with a brace in boring wood. See , n., 3. -- Coloq. Shell button . (a) A button made of shell. (b) A hollow button made of two pieces, as of metal, one for the front and the other for the back, -- often covered with cloth, silk, etc. -- Coloq. Shell cameo , a cameo cut in shell instead of stone. -- Coloq. Shell flower . (Bot.) Same as . -- Coloq. Shell gland . (Zoöl.) (a) A glandular organ in which the rudimentary shell is formed in embryonic mollusks. (b) A glandular organ which secretes the eggshells of various worms, crustacea, mollusks, etc. -- Coloq. Shell gun , a cannon suitable for throwing shells. -- Coloq. Shell ibis (Zoöl.), the openbill of India. -- Coloq. Shell jacket , an undress military jacket. -- Coloq. Shell lime , lime made by burning the shells of shellfish. -- Coloq. Shell marl (Min.), a kind of marl characterized by an abundance of shells, or fragments of shells. -- Coloq. Shell meat , food consisting of shellfish, or testaceous mollusks. Fuller. -- Coloq. Shell mound . See under . -- Coloq. Shell of a boiler , the exterior of a steam boiler, forming a case to contain the water and steam, often inclosing also flues and the furnace; the barrel of a cylindrical, or locomotive, boiler. -- Coloq. Shell road , a road of which the surface or bed is made of shells, as oyster shells. -- Coloq. Shell sand , minute fragments of shells constituting a considerable part of the seabeach in some places.
[ Webster]

Shell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shelled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Shelling.] 1. To strip or break off the shell of; to take out of the shell, pod, etc.; as, to shell nuts or pease; to shell oysters.
[ Webster]

2. To separate the kernels of (an ear of Indian corn, wheat, oats, etc.) from the cob, ear, or husk.
[ Webster]

3. To throw shells or bombs upon or into; to bombard; as, to shell a town.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To shell out , to distribute freely; to bring out or pay, as money. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

Shell, v. i. 1. To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.
[ Webster]

2. To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk; as, nuts shell in falling.
[ Webster]

3. To be disengaged from the ear or husk; as, wheat or rye shells in reaping.
[ Webster]

{ Shellac, Shell-lac } (?), n. [Shell + lac a resinous substance; cf. D. shellak, G. schellack.] 1. Lac which has been reduced to a thin crust. See the Note under 2d .
[ Webster]

2. A solution of shellac{1} in alcohol or other volatile solvent, used as a varnish.
[PJC]

3. A phonograph record, made of a material containing shellac; -- no longer manufactured. [Obsolescent] RHUD
[PJC]

Shellapple, n. (Zoöl.) See .
[ Webster]

Shellbark (?), n. (Bot.) A species of hickory (Carya alba) whose outer bark is loose and peeling; a shagbark; also, its nut.
[ Webster]

Shelled (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a shell.
[ Webster]

Sheller (?), n. One who, or that which, shells; as, an oyster sheller; a corn sheller.
[ Webster]

Shellfish (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any aquatic animal whose external covering consists of a shell, either testaceous, as in oysters, clams, and other mollusks, or crustaceous, as in lobsters and crabs.
[ Webster]

Shelling, n. Groats; hulled oats. Simmonds.
[ Webster]

Shell-less, a. Having no shell. J. Burroughs.
[ Webster]

Shellproof (?), a. Capable of resisting bombs or other shells; bombproof.
[ Webster]

Shellwork (?), n. Work composed of shells, or adorned with them. Cotgrave.
[ Webster]

Shelly (?), a. Abounding with shells; consisting of shells, or of a shell. “The shelly shore.” Prior.
[ Webster]

Shrinks backward in his shelly cave. Shak.
[ Webster]

Shelter (?), n. [Cf. OE. scheltrun, shiltroun, schelltrome, scheldtrome, a guard, squadron, AS. scildtruma a troop of men with shields; scild shield + truma a band of men. See , n.] 1. That which covers or defends from injury or annoyance; a protection; a screen.
[ Webster]

The sick and weak the healing plant shall aid,
From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade.
Pope.
[ Webster]

2. One who protects; a guardian; a defender.
[ Webster]

Thou [God] hast been a shelter for me. Ps. lxi. 3.
[ Webster]

3. The state of being covered and protected; protection; security.
[ Webster]

Who into shelter takes their tender bloom. Young.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Shelter tent ,a small tent made of pieces of cotton duck arranged to button together. In field service the soldiers carry the pieces.
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Asylum; refuge; retreat; covert; sanctuary; protection; defense; security.
[ Webster]

Shelter (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sheltered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sheltering.] 1. To be a shelter for; to provide with a shelter; to cover from injury or annoyance; to shield; to protect.
[ Webster]

Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head. Dryden.
[ Webster]

You have no convents . . . in which such persons may be received and sheltered. Southey.
[ Webster]

2. To screen or cover from notice; to disguise.
[ Webster]

In vain I strove to cheek my growing flame,
Or shelter passion under friendship's name.
Prior.
[ Webster]

3. To betake to cover, or to a safe place; -- used reflexively.
[ Webster]

They sheltered themselves under a rock. Abp. Abbot.
[ Webster]

Shelter, v. i. To take shelter.
[ Webster]

There oft the Indian herdsman, shunning heat,
Shelters in cool.
Milton.
[ Webster]

Shelterless, a. Destitute of shelter or protection.
[ Webster]

Now sad and shelterless perhaps she lies. Rowe.
[ Webster]

Sheltery (?), a. Affording shelter. [R.]
[ Webster]

{ Sheltie (?), Shelty (?), } n. A Shetland pony.
[ Webster]

Shelve (?), v. t. 1. To furnish with shelves; as, to shelve a closet or a library.
[ Webster]

2. To place on a shelf. Hence: To lay on the shelf; to put aside; to dismiss from service; to put off indefinitely; as, to shelve an officer; to shelve a claim.
[ Webster]

Shelve, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shelved (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Shelving.] [Perhapss originally from the same source as shallow, but influenced by shelf a ledge, a platform.] To incline gradually; to be slopping; as, the bottom shelves from the shore.
[ Webster]

Shelving, a. Sloping gradually; inclining; as, a shelving shore. Shak.Shelving arches.” Addison.
[ Webster]

Shelving, n. 1. The act of fitting up shelves; as, the job of shelving a closet.
[ Webster]

2. The act of laying on a shelf, or on the shelf; putting off or aside; as, the shelving of a claim.
[ Webster]

3. Material for shelves; shelves, collectively.
[ Webster]

Shelvy (?), a. Sloping gradually; shelving.
[ Webster]

The shore was shelving and shallow. Shak.
[ Webster]

Shemite (?), n. A descendant of Shem.
[ Webster]

{ Shemitic (?), Shemitish (?), } a. Of or pertaining to Shem, the son of Noah, or his descendants. See .
[ Webster]

Shemitism (?), n. See .
[ Webster]

Shend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Shending.] [AS. scendan to disgrace, bring to shame, from sceand, sceond, disgrace, dishonor, shame; akin to G. schande, Goth. skanda. See , n.] 1. To injure, mar, spoil, or harm. [Obs.] “Loss of time shendeth us.” Chaucer.
[ Webster]

I fear my body will be shent. Dryden.
[ Webster]

2. To blame, reproach, or revile; to degrade, disgrace, or put to shame. [Archaic] R. Browning.
[ Webster]

The famous name of knighthood foully shend. Spenser.
[ Webster]

She passed the rest as Cynthia doth shend
The lesser stars.
Spenser.
[ Webster]

Shendful (?), a. Destructive; ruinous; disgraceful. [Obs.] -- Shendfully, adv. [Obs.] Fabyan.
[ Webster]

Shendship, n. Harm; ruin; also, reproach; disgrace. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Shent (?), obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of , for shendeth. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Shent, v. t. To shend. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Sheol (shēōl), n. [Heb. shĕōl.] The place of departed spirits; Hades; also, the grave.
[ Webster]

For thou wilt not leave my soul to sheol. Ps. xvi. 10. (Rev. Ver.)
[ Webster]

Shepen (?), n. A stable; a shippen. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

The shepne brenning with the blacke smoke. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Shepherd (?), n. [OE. schepherde, schephirde, AS. sceáphyrde; sceáp sheep + hyrde, hirde, heorde, a herd, a guardian. See , and .] 1. A man employed in tending, feeding, and guarding sheep, esp. a flock grazing at large.
[ Webster]

2. The pastor of a church; one with the religious guidance of others.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Shepherd bird (Zoöl.), the crested screamer. See . -- Coloq. Shepherd dog (Zoöl.), a breed of dogs used largely for the herding and care of sheep. There are several kinds, as the collie, or Scotch shepherd dog, and the English shepherd dog. Called also shepherd's dog. -- Coloq. Shepherd dog , a name of Pan. Keats. -- Coloq. Shepherd kings , the chiefs of a nomadic people who invaded Egypt from the East in the traditional period, and conquered it, at least in part. They were expelled after about five hundred years, and attempts have been made to connect their expulsion with narrative in the book of Exodus. -- Coloq. Shepherd's club (Bot.), the common mullein. See . -- Coloq. Shepherd's crook , a long staff having the end curved so as to form a large hook, -- used by shepherds. -- Coloq. Shepherd's needle (Bot.), the lady's comb. -- Coloq. Shepherd's plaid , a kind of woolen cloth of a checkered black and white pattern. -- Coloq. Shephered spider (Zoöl.), a daddy longlegs, or harvestman. -- Coloq. Shepherd's pouch , or Coloq. Shepherd's purse (Bot.), an annual cruciferous plant (Capsella Bursapastoris) bearing small white flowers and pouchlike pods. See Illust. of . -- Coloq. Shepherd's rod , or Coloq. Shepherd's staff (Bot.), the small teasel.
[ Webster]

Shepherd, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shepherded; p. pr. & vb. n. Shepherding.] To tend as a shepherd; to guard, herd, lead, or drive, as a shepherd. [Poetic]
[ Webster]

White, fleecy clouds . . .
[ Webster]

Shepherded by the slow, unwilling wind. Shelley.
[ Webster]

Shepherdess, n. A woman who tends sheep; hence, a rural lass.
[ Webster]

She put herself into the garb of a shepherdess. Sir P. Sidney.
[ Webster]

Shepherdia (?), n.; pl. Shepherdias (#). [NL. So called from John Shepherd, an English botanist.] (Bot.) A genus of shrubs having silvery scurfy leaves, and belonging to the same family as Elæagnus; also, any plant of this genus. See Buffalo berry, under .
[ Webster]

Prev Next

Concept Explore Home

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z