Shield | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Shiēld, n.

noun

n. [A-S. scild, sceld, scyld, O. Sax. scild, O. Fries. skeld, Goth. skildus, Icel. skiöldr, Sw. sköld, Dan. skiold, O. H. Ger. skilt, N. H. Ger. & D. schild, from Icel. & Sw. skyla, Dan. skiule, to cover, to defend.]

Sense 1. A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm; a buckler; — formerly used in war for the protection of the body.

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

Sense 2. Any thing which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.

My council is my shield. Shak.

Sense 3. Figuratively, a person who protects or defends.

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

Sense 4. (Bot.) A little colored cup or line, with a hard disk, surrounded by a rim, and containing the fructification of lichens.

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

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

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

An armored soldier wearing a helmet holds a sword and a large shield. — Shield.

A round, ornamented shield with a star-shaped design at its center and a curved handle or attachment extending from the side. — Shield. (4.)

Two outlined heraldic shields are shown side by side, a Norman shield on the left and a lozenge shield on the right. — Norman Shield. Lozenge Shield.

An outline of a shield divided by dashed vertical and horizontal lines.

Two fanciful variations of a shield bearing geometric designs, one with an ornate oval frame. — Fanciful Variations.

A shield-shaped outline is divided into several geometric sections by horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines.