Show | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Shōw, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. SHOWED; p. p. SHOWN, or SHOWED; p. pr. & vb. n. SHOWING. It is sometimes written shew, shewed, shewn, shewing.] [A-S. scawian, sceawian, scewian, to look, see, view, O. Sax. scawon, O. Fries. skawia, D. schouwen, O. H. Ger. scawôn, scouwôn, N. H. Ger. schauen, Goth. scawjan, Dan. skue, Sw. skåda, Icel. skoða.]

Sense 1. To exhibit or present to view; to place in sight; to exhibit; — with an object denoting the thing displayed.

Go thy way, show thyself to the priest. Matt. viii. 4.

Nor want we skill or art from whence to raise Magnificence; and what can Heaven show more? Milton.

Sense 2. To cause to see; to enable to perceive; to lead to notice; — with an object denoting the person who sees.

Know, I am sent To show thee what shall come in future days. Milton.

Sense 3. To teach; to inform; to point out to.

Show him his room where he must lodge. Milton.

Thou shalt show them the way wherein they must walk. Ex. xviii. 20.

Sense 4. Hence, to usher or guide; to conduct; as, to show a person into a parlor.

Sense 5. To make apparent or clear by evidence, testimony, or reasoning; to prove; to give the reason and explanation of; to manifest; to evince; to explain.

I'll show my duty by my timely care. Dryden.

Sense 6. To bestow; to confer; to afford; as, to show favor or mercy on any person.

I . . . durst not show you mine opinion. Job xxxii. 6.

To show forth, to manifest; to publish; to proclaim. — To show his paces, to exhibit the gait, speed, or the like; — said especially of a horse. — To show off, to exhibit in an ostentatious manner. — To show up, to expose. [Colloq.]

Shōw, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To appear; to look; to be in appearance; to seem.

Just such she shows before a rising storm. Dryden. All round a hedge upshoots, and shows At distance like a little wood. Tennyson.

Sense 2. To have appearance, well or ill, as fit or unfit; to become or suit.

My lord of York, it better showed with you. Shak. To show off, to make a show; to display one's self.

Shōw, n.

noun

n. [A-S. sceaw, sceáw, a show, scene, O. H. Ger. scou, M. H. Ger. schouwe, N. H. Ger. schau.] 1. The act of showing or bringing to view; appearance; exhibition. A crown, Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns. Milton.

That which is shown or brought to view; a spectacle; that which is brought out, or arranged, to be seen. “As for triumphs, masks, feasts, and such shows.” Bacon.
Proud or ostentatious display; parade; pomp.

I envy none their pageantry and show. Young.

Semblance; likeness; appearance. “In show plebeian angel militant.” Milton.
Pretext; specious plausibility. “Who devour widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers.” Luke xx. 47.
(Med.) A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occurring a short time before labor. Dunglison.

Show of hands, a raising of hands, as a vote in a public meeting.