Chapter 1536

Shield (?) , n. [OE. sheld , scheld , AS. scield , scild , sceld , scyld ; akin to OS. scild , OFries. skeld , D. & G. schild , OHG. scilt , Icel. skj\'94ldr , Sw. sk\'94ld , Dan. skiold , Goth. skildus ; of uncertain origin. Cf. Sheldrake .] 1. A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, -- formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body. See Buckler .

Now put your shields before your hearts and fight, With hearts more proof than shields . Shak.

2. Anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection. "My council is my shield ."

Shak.

3. Figuratively, one who protects or defends.

Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield , and thy exceeding great reward. Gen. xv. 1.

4. (Bot.) In lichens, a Hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.

5. (Her.) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms. Cf. Lozenge . See Illust . of Escutcheon .

6. (Mining & Tunneling) A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.

7. A spot resembling, or having the form of, a shield. "Bespotted as with shields of red and black."

Spenser.

8. A coin, the old French crown, or \'82cu, having on one side the figure of a shield. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Shield fern (Bot.) , any fern of the genus Aspidium , in which the fructifications are covered with shield-shaped indusia; -- called also wood fern . See Illust . of Indusium .

Shield <Xpage=1328>

Shield (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Shielded ; p. pr. & vb. n. Shielding .] [AS. scidan , scyldan . See Shield , n. ] 1. To cover with, or as with, a shield; to cover from danger; to defend; to protect from assault or injury.

Shouts of applause ran ringing through the field, To see the son the vanquished father shield . Dryden.

A woman's shape doth shield thee. Shak.

2. To ward off; to keep off or out.

They brought with them their usual weeds, fit to shield the cold to which they had been inured. Spenser.

3. To avert, as a misfortune; hence, as a supplicatory exclamation, forbid! [Obs.]

God shield that it should so befall. Chaucer.

God shield I should disturb devotion! Shak.

Shield-bearer <Xpage=1328>

Shield"-bear`er (?) , n. 1. One who, or that which, carries a shield.

2. (Zo\'94l.) Any small moth of the genus Aspidisca , whose larva makes a shieldlike covering for itself out of bits of leaves.

Shielddrake <Xpage=1328>

Shield"drake` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A sheldrake.

Shieldless <Xpage=1328>

Shield"less , a. Destitute of a shield, or of protection. -- Shield"less*ly , adv. -- Shield"less*ness , n.

Shieldtail <Xpage=1328>

Shield"tail` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) Any species of small burrowing snakes of the family Uropeltid\'91 , native of Ceylon and Southern Asia. They have a small mouth which can not be dilated.

Shieling <Xpage=1328>

Shiel"ing (?) , n. A hut or shelter for shepherds of fishers. See Sheeling . [Scot.]

Shift <Xpage=1328>

Shift (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Shifted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Shifting .] [OE. shiften , schiften , to divide, change, remove. AS. sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & D. schiften to divide, distinguish, part Icel. skipta to divide, to part, to shift, to change, Dan skifte , Sw. skifta , and probably to Icel. sk\'c6fa to cut into slices, as n., a slice, and to E. shive , sheave , n., shiver , n.] 1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]

To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of flowers well smelling. Chaucer.

2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame.

Hastily he schifte him[self]. Piers Plowman.

Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways. Tusser.

3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails .

Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and thither at pleasure. Sir W. Raleigh.

4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.

I would advise you to shift a shirt. Shak.

5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]

As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to have patience to shift me. Shak.

6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. "I shifted him away."

Shak.

To shift off , to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside. -- To shift the scene , to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story.

Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are in thy power. Swift.

Shiff <Xpage=1328>

Shiff , v. i. 1. To divide; to distribute. [Obs.]

Some this, some that, as that him liketh shift . Chaucer.

2. To make a change or changes; to change position; to move; to veer; to substitute one thing for another; -- used in the various senses of the transitive verb.

The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon. Shak.

Here the Baillie shifted and fidgeted about in his seat. Sir W. Scott.

3. To resort to expedients for accomplishing a purpose; to contrive; to manage.

Men in distress will look to themselves, and leave their companions to schift as well as they can. L'Estrange.

4. To practice indirect or evasive methods.

All those schoolmen, though they were exceeding witty, yet better teach all their followers to shift , than to resolve by their distinctions. Sir W. Raleigh.

5. (Naut.) To slip to one side of a ship, so as to destroy the equilibrum; -- said of ballast or cargo; as, the cargo shifted .

Shift <Xpage=1328>

Shift (?) , n. [Cf. Icel skipti . See Shift , v. t. ] 1. The act of shifting. Specifically: (a) The act of putting one thing in the place of another, or of changing the place of a thing; change; substitution .

My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of air. Sir H. Wotton.

(b) A turning from one thing to another; hence, an expedient tried in difficalty; often, an evasion; a trick; a fraud. "Reduced to pitiable shifts ."

Macaulay.

I 'll find a thousand shifts to get away. Shak.

Little souls on little shifts rely. Dryden.

2. Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's under-garment; a chemise.

3. The change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work in turn with other sets; as, a night shift .

4. In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed in courses so as to break joints.

5. (Mining) A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a fault.

6. (Mus.) A change of the position of the hand on the finger board, in playing the violin.

To make shift , to contrive or manage in an exigency. "I shall make shift to go without him."

Shak.

[They] made a shift to keep their own in Ireland. Milton.

Shiftable <Xpage=1328>

Shift"a*ble (?) , a. Admitting of being shifted.

Shifter <Xpage=1328>

Shift"er (?) , n. 1. One who, or that which, shifts; one who plays tricks or practices artifice; a cozener.

'T was such a shifter that, if truth were known, Death was half glad when he had got him down. Milton.

2. (Naut.) An assistant to the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions.

3. (Mach.) (a) An arrangement for shifting a belt sidewise from one pulley to another. (b) (Knitting Mach.) A wire for changing a loop from one needle to another, as in narrowing, etc.

Shiftiness <Xpage=1328>

Shift"i*ness , n. The quality or state of being shifty.

Diplomatic shiftiness and political versatility. J. A. Syminds.

Shifting <Xpage=1328>

Shift"ing , a. 1. Changing in place, position, or direction; varying; variable; fickle; as, shifting winds; shifting opinions or principles .

2. Adapted or used for shifting anything.

Shifting backstays (Naut.) , temporary stays that have to be let go whenever the vessel tacks or jibes. -- Shifting ballast , ballast which may be moved from one side of a vessel to another as safety requires. -- Shifting center . See Metacenter . -- Shifting locomotive . See Switching engine , under Switch .

Shiftingly <Xpage=1328>

Shift"ing*ly , adv. In a shifting manner.

Shiftless <Xpage=1328>

Shift"less , a. Destitute of expedients, or not using successful expedients; characterized by failure, especially by failure to provide for one's own support, through negligence or incapacity; hence, lazy; improvident; thriftless; as, a shiftless fellow; shiftless management. -- Shift"less*ly , adv. -- Shift"less*ness , n.

Shifty <Xpage=1328>

Shift"y (?) , a. Full of, or ready with, shifts; fertile in expedients or contrivance.

Wright.

Shifty and thrifty as old Greek or modern Scot, there were few things he could not invent, and perhaps nothing he could not endure. C. Kingsley.

Shiite, Shiah <Xpage=1328>

Shi"ite (?) , Shi"ah (?) , n. [Ar. sh\'c6'a\'c6 a follower of the sect of Ali, fr. sh\'c6'at , sh\'c6'ah , a multitude following one another in pursuit of the same object, the sect of Ali, fr. sh\'be'a to follow.] A member of that branch of the Mohammedans to which the Persians belong. They reject the first three caliphs, and consider Ali as being the first and only rightful successor of Mohammed. They do not acknowledge the Sunna, or body of traditions respecting Mohammed, as any part of the law, and on these accounts are treated as heretics by the Sunnites, or orthodox Mohammedans.

Shikaree, Shikari <Xpage=1328>

Shi*ka"ree , Shi*ka"ri (?) n. [ Hind .] A sportsman; esp., a native hunter. [India]

Shilf <Xpage=1328>

Shilf (?) , n. [CF. G. shilf sedge.] Straw. [Obs.]

Shill <Xpage=1328>

Shill (?) , v. t. To shell. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Shill <Xpage=1328>

Shill , v. t. [Cf. Sheal .] To put under cover; to sheal. [Prov.ng.]

Brockett.

Shillalah, Shillelah <Xpage=1328>

Shil*la"lah , Shil*le"lah (?) , n. An oaken sapling or cudgel; any cudgel; -- so called from Shillelagh , a place in Ireland of that name famous for its oaks. [Irish] [Written also shillaly , and shillely .]

Shilling <Xpage=1328>

Shil"ling (?) , n. [OE. shilling , schilling , AS. scilling ; akin to D. schelling , OS. & OHG. scilling , G. schilling , Sw. & Dan. skilling , Icel. skillingr , Goth. skilliggs , and perh. to OHG. scellan to sound, G. schallen .] 1. A silver coin, and money of account, of Great Britain and its dependencies, equal to twelve pence, or the twentieth part of a pound, equivalent to about twenty-four cents of the United States currency.

2. In the United States, a denomination of money, differing in value in different States. It is not now legally recognized.

&hand; Many of the States while colonies had issued bills of credit which had depreciated in different degrees in the different colonies. Thus, in New England currency (used also in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida), after the adoption of the decimal system, the pound in paper money was worth only $3.333, and the shilling 16<?/ cts., or 6s. to $1; in New York currency (also in North Carolina, Ohio, and Michigan), the pound was worth $2.50, and the shilling 12\'ab cts., or 8s. to $1; in Pennsylvania currency (also in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland), the pound was worth $2.70, and the shilling 13\'ab cts., or 7s. 6d. to $1; and in Georgia currency (also in South Carolina), the pound was worth $4.29<?/, and the shilling 21<?/ cts., or 4s 8d. to $1. In many parts of the country . . . the reckoning by shillings and pence is not yet entirely abandoned.

Am. Cyc.

<page="1329"> Page 1329

3. The Spanish real, of the value of one eight of a dollar, or 12<?/ cets; -- formerly so called in New York and some other States. See Note under 2.

York shilling . Same as Shilling , 3.

Shill-I-shall-I, Shilly-shally <Xpage=1329>

Shill"-I-shall`-I (?) , Shil"ly-shal`ly , adv. [A reduplication of shall I .] In an irresolute, undecided, or hesitating manner.

I am somewhat dainty in making a resolution, because when I make it, I keep it; I don't stand shill-I-shall-I then; if I say 't, I'll do 't. Congreve.

Shilly-shally <Xpage=1329>

Shil"ly-shal`ly , v. i. To hesitate; to act in an irresolute manner; hence, to occupy one's self with trifles.

Shilly-shally <Xpage=1329>

Shil"ly-shal`ly , n. Irresolution; hesitation; also, occupation with trifles.

She lost not one of her forty-five minutes in picking and choosing , -- no shilly-shally in Kate. De Quincey.

Shiloh <Xpage=1329>

Shi"loh (sh\'c6\'b6l\'d3) , n. [Heb. sh\'c6l\'d3h , literally, quiet, rest, fr. sh\'bel\'beh to rest.] (Script.) A word used by Jacob on his deathbed, and interpreted variously, as "the Messiah," or as the city "Shiloh," or as "Rest."

Shily <Xpage=1329>

Shi"ly (?) , adv. See Shyly .

Shim <Xpage=1329>

Shim (?) , n. 1. A kind of shallow plow used in tillage to break the ground, and clear it of weeds.

2. (Mach.) A thin piece of metal placed between two parts to make a fit.

Shimmer <Xpage=1329>

Shim"mer (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Shimmered (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Shimmering .] [OE. schimeren , AS. scimerian ; akin to sc\'c6mian , sc\'c6man , to glitter, D. schemeren , G. schimmern , Dan. skimre , Sw. skimra , AS. sc\'c6ma a light, brightness, Icel. sk\'c6ma , Goth. skeima a torch, a lantern, and E. shine . &root;157. See Shine , v. i. ] To shine with a tremulous or intermittent light; to shine faintly; to gleam; to glisten; to glimmer.

The shimmering glimpses of a stream. Tennyson.

Shimmer <Xpage=1329>

Shim"mer , n. A faint, tremulous light; a gleaming; a glimmer.

TWo silver lamps, fed with perfumed oil, diffused . . . a trembling twilight-seeming shimmer through the quiet apartment. Sir W. Scott.

Shimmering <Xpage=1329>

Shim"mer*ing , n. A gleam or glimmering. "A little shimmering of a light."

Chaucer.

Shimmy <Xpage=1329>

Shim"my (?) , n. A chemise. [Colloq.]

Shin <Xpage=1329>

Shin (?) , n. [OE. shine , schine , AS. scina; akin to D. scheen , OHG. scina , G. schiene , schien bein, Dan. skinne been, Sw. sken ben. Cf. Chine .] 1. The front part of the leg below the knee; the front edge of the shin bone; the lower part of the leg; the shank. "On his shin ."

Chaucer.

2. (Railbroad) A fish plate for rails.

Knight.

Shin bone (Anat.) , the tibia. -- Shin leaf (Bot.) , a perennial ericaceous herb ( Pyrola elliptica ) with a cluster of radical leaves and a raceme of greenish white flowers.

Shin <Xpage=1329>

Shin , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Shinned (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Shinning .] 1. To climb a mast, tree, rope, or the like, by embracing it alternately with the arms and legs, without help of steps, spurs, or the like; -- used with up ; as, to shin up a mast . [Slang] <-- now usu. shinny -->

2. To run about borrowing money hastily and temporarily, as for the payment of one's notes at the bank. [Slang, U.S.]

Bartlett.

Shin <Xpage=1329>

Shin , v. t. To climb (a pole, etc.) by shinning up. [Slang]

Shindle <Xpage=1329>

Shin"dle (?) , n. [See 2d Shingle .] A shingle; also, a slate for roofing. [Obs.]

Holland.

Shindle <Xpage=1329>

Shin"dle , v. t. To cover or roof with shindles. [Obs.]

Shindy <Xpage=1329>

Shin"dy (?) , n. ; pl. Shindies (#) . [Etymol. uncertain; cf. Shinney , Shinty .] 1. An uproar or disturbance; a spree; a row; a riot. [Slang]

Thackeray.

2. Hockey; shinney.

Bartlett.

3. A fancy or liking. [Local, U. S.]

Bartlett.

Shine <Xpage=1329>

Shine (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Shone (<?/ &or; <?/; 277) ( archaic Shined (<?/) ); p. pr. & vb. n. Shining .] [OE. shinen , schinen , AS. sc\'c6nan ; akin to D. schijnen , OFries. sk\'c6na , OS. & OHG. sc\'c6nan , G. scheinen , Icel. sk\'c6na , Sw. skina , Dan. skinne , Goth. skeinan , and perh. to Gr. <?/<?/<?/ shadow. &root;157. Cf. Sheer pure, and Shimmer .] 1. To emit rays of light; to give light; to beam with steady radiance; to exhibit brightness or splendor; as, the sun shines by day; the moon shines by night.

Hyperion's quickening fire doth shine . Shak.

God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Cghrist. 2 Cor. iv. 6.

Let thine eyes shine forth in their full luster. Denham.

2. To be bright by reflection of light; to gleam; to be glossy; as, to shine like polished silver .

3. To be effulgent in splendor or beauty. "So proud she shined in her princely state."

Spenser.

Once brightest shined this child of heat and air. Pope.

4. To be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished; to exhibit brilliant intellectual powers; as, to shine in courts; to shine in conversation .

Few are qualified to shine in company; but it in most men's power to be agreeable. Swift.

To make , &or; cause , the face to shine upon , to be propitious to; to be gracious to.

Num. vi. 25.