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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Screen

Screen, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. escrein, escran, N. Fr. écran, fr. N. H. Ger. schirm, a screen; O. H. Ger. scirm, scerm, Dan. skärm, Sw. skärm.]

Sense 1. Any thing that separates or cuts off inconvenience, injury, or danger; that which shelters or protects from danger, prevents inconvenience, shuts off view, and the like. “Your leafy screens throw down.” Shak.

Some ambitions men seem as screens to princes in matters of danger and envy. Bacon.

Sense 2. (Arch.) A partition carried up to a certain height for separation and protection, as in a church, a yard, and elsewhere.

Sense 3. A long, coarse riddle or sieve, used to separate the coarser from the finer parts, as of coal, sand, and the like.

Fire-screen (Naut.), (a.) A partition of baize, flannel, or the like, placed forward of the after magazine passage in action, or when the magazine is opened. (b.) (Dom. Econ.) A movable screen placed before an open fire to intercept the direct light and heat.

A freestanding rectangular mesh screen supported by a diagonal brace.
Screen. (3.)

Screen, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. SCREENED; p. pr. & vb. n. SCREENING.] 1. To provide with a shelter or means of concealment; to separate or cut off from inconvenience, injury, or danger; to shelter; to protect; to protect by hiding; to conceal; as, fruits screened from cold winds by a forest or hill. They were encouraged and screened by some who were in high commands. Macaulay. 2. To pass through a screen; to separate the coarse part of from the fine, or the worthless from the valuable; as, to screen coal. Syn.—To cover; shelter; protect; defend; shield; hide; conceal.