Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Sheet, n. p. 1216In general, any broad, uninterrupted expanse; any expanded superficies; hence, specifically, (a.) A broad piece of cloth used as a part of bed furniture, next to the body. Shroud me in one of those…Sheet, n. p. 1217(Naut.) A rope fastened to one or both of the lower corners of a sail, to extend and retain it in a particular situation. A wet sheet and a flowing sea. Sargent.Sheet, v. t. p. 1217To furnish with sheets. [Rare.] 2. To fold in a sheet. “The sheeted dead.” Shak. 3. To cover as with a sheet; to cover with something broad and thin. “When snow the pasture sheets.” Shak. 4. To draw…Sheet'-ănch'or, n. p. 1217(Naut.) The largest anchor of a ship, which, in stress of weather, is sometimes the seaman’s last refuge to prevent the ship from going ashore. 2. Hence, the chief support; the last refuge for safety.Sheet'-cā'ble, n. p. 1217(Naut.) The cable attached to the sheet-anchor, being the strongest and best cable of a ship. Simmonds.Sheet'ful, n. p. 1217Enough to fill a sheet; as much as a sheet can hold.Sheet'ing, n. p. 1217Cloth for sheets.Sheet'-light'ning, n. p. 1217Lightning diffused over the surface of the sky. “Like sheet-lightning ever brightening.” Tennyson.Sheet'ling, n. p. 1217A little sheet. [Rare.]Sheet'-pile, n. p. 1217A pile of thick plank, shot or jointed on the edges, driven between the main piles of a coffer-dam or other hydraulic work.Shēik, n. p. 1217An old man; — so called among the Arabians and Moors; hence, a chief, a lord, a man of eminence.Shēil or Shēil'ing, n. p. 1217The same as SHEELING, q. v.Shek'el, n. p. 1217An ancient weight and coin among the Jews, and other nations of the same stock, equivalent to twenty gerahs, equal in weight to about half an ounce avoirdupois, and in value equal to about sixty-two…She-kī’nah, n. p. 1217(Jewish Hist.) That miraculous light or visible glory which was a symbol of the divine presence.Shēld, a. p. 1217Variegated; spotted; speckled; piebald. [Prov. Eng.] Ray.Shēld'a-fle or Shēld'a-ple, n. p. 1217A chaffinch. [Written also sheld-apple and shell-apple.] Johnson.She'l'drake, n. p. 1217(Ornith.) A species of duck (Tadorna vulpanser), somewhat resembling a goose in its shape, and found in Europe. It has a green or greenish-black head, and its body is variegated with white. It is…She'l'dück, n. p. 1217A species of wild duck. See SHELDRAKE. Mortimer.Shĕlf, n. p. 1217A board, or platform of boards or planks, elevated above the floor, and fixed or set horizontally on a frame, or contiguous to a wall, for holding vessels, utensils, books, and the like; a ledge. 2.…Shĕlf'y, a. p. 1217Abounding in, or composed of, shelves; full of dangerous shallows. “A shelfy coast.” Dryden. 2. Full of strata of rock. [Obs.] The tillable fields are in some places . . . so shelfy that the corn…Shĕll, n. p. 1217A hard outside covering; especially, that serving as the natural protection of certain fruits and animals; as, (a.) The covering or outside part of a nut; as, a hazel-nut shell. (b.) The covering of…Shĕll, v. t. p. 1217To strip or break off the shell of; or, to take out of the shell; as, to shell nuts or almonds. 2. To separate from the ear; as, to shell maize. 3. To throw shells or bombs upon; to bombard; as, to…Shĕll, v. i. p. 1217To fall off, as a shell, crust, or exterior coat. 2. To cast the shell or exterior covering; as, nuts shell in falling. 3. To be disengaged from the husk; as, wheat or rye shells in reaping.Shell'lae or Shell'-lae, n. p. 1217The resin lac spread into thin plates, after being melted and strained.Shēll'-bärk, n. p. 1217(Bot.) A species of hickory (Carya alba), whose bark is loose and peeling; shag-bark.Shell'-bŭt'ton, n. p. 1217A button made of a shell. 2. A hollow button made of two pieces of metal, one for the front and the other for the back, and often covered with silk, &c. Simmonds.Shĕll'-fish, n. p. 1217An aquatic animal, whose external covering consists of a shell, either testaceous, as in oysters, clams, and the like, or crustaceous, as in the lobster.Shĕll'-flow'er, n. p. 1217(Bot.) A perennial plant of the genus Chelone (C. glabra), bearing spikes of flowers with inflated tubular corollas.Shēll'ing, n. p. 1217Groats;— so called in commercial language. Simmonds.Shĕll'-jăck'et, n. p. 1217An undress military jacket.Shĕll'-līme, n. p. 1217Lime made by burning the shells of shell-fish.Shĕll'-mārl, n. p. 1217A deposit of shells, which have been disintegrated into a gray or white pulverulent mass.Shĕll'-mēat, n. p. 1217Food consisting of shell-fish, or testaceous mollusks. Fuller.Shĕll'-proof, a. p. 1217Capable of resisting bomb-shells.Shĕll'-work, n. p. 1217Work composed of shells, or adorned with them. Cotgrave.Shĕll'y, a. p. 1217Abounding with shells. “The shelly shore.” Prior. 2. Consisting of shells, or of a shell. “Shrinks backward in his shelly cave.” Shak.Shēl'ter, n. p. 1217That which covers or defends from injury or annoyance. The healing plant shall aid, From storms a shelter, and from heat a shade. Pope. 2. Hence, one who protects; a guardian. 3. The state of being…Shĕl'ter, v. t. p. 1217To furnish a shelter for; to cover from harm or injury; to shield; to screen from notice; to protect. Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head. Dryden. You have no convents . . . in which such…Shĕl'ter, v. i. p. 1217To take shelter. There the Indian herdsman, shunning heat, Shelters in cool. Milton.Shĕl'ter-less, a. p. 1217Destitute of shelter or protection; without home or refuge. Now sad and shelterless perhaps she lies. Rowe.Shēl'ter-y, a. p. 1217Affording shelter. [Rare.] White.Shēl'tie, n. p. 1217A Shetland pony; one of a breed of small ponies;— so called from Shetland, where they originated. [Written also shelty.]Shēlve, v. t. p. 1217To furnish with shelves; as, to shelve a closet or library. 2. To place on a shelf; hence, to lay on the shelf, or put aside with a view to prevent re-appearance; as, to shelve a claim.Shēlve, v. i. p. 1217To incline; to be sloping. “With rocks and shelving arches vaulted round.” Addison.Shĕlv'ing, n. p. 1217The act of laying on the shelf. 2. The shelves of a room, &c., collectively.Shēlv'y, a. p. 1217Full of rocks or sand-banks; shallow; as, a shelvy shore. See SHELFY.Shēm'ite, n. p. 1217A descendant of Shem.Shem-it'ic or Shēm'it-ish, a. p. 1217Pertaining to Shem, the son of Noah. [Written also Semitic.] The Shemitic languages are the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Hebrew, Samaritan, Ethiopic, and Old Phenician.Shēm'īt-ism, n. p. 1217The system or peculiar forms of the Shemitic languages.Shēnd, v. t. p. 1217To injure, mar, or spoil. I fear my body will be shent. Dryden. 2. To blame, reproach, revile, degrade, or disgrace. The famous name of knighthood foully shend. Spencer. 3. To overpower or surpass.…Shē'ōl, n. p. 1217The place of departed spirits; Hades.Shĕp'herd, n. p. 1217A man employed in tending, feeding, and guarding sheep. 2. A swain; a rural lover. Raleigh. 3. The pastor of a parish, church, or congregation; a minister of the gospel who superintends a church or…Shĕp'herd, v. t. p. 1218To tend as a shepherd; to guard, herd, or drive, as a shepherd. [Rare.] White, fleecy clouds Were wandering in thick flocks along the mountains. Shepherded by the slow, unwilling wind. Shelley.Shĕp'herd-ess, n. p. 1218A woman that tends sheep; hence, a rural lass. She put herself into the garb of a shepherdess. Sidney.Shĕp'herd-ĭsh, a. p. 1218Resembling a shepherd; suiting a shepherd; pastoral; rustic.Shĕp'herd-ĭsm, n. p. 1218Pastoral life or occupation.Shĕp'herd-ling, n. p. 1218A little shepherd.Shĕp'herd-ly, a. p. 1218Resembling or becoming a shepherd; pastoral; rustic. Bp. Taylor.Shĕp'herd's-clŭb, n. p. 1218(Bot.) A species of mullein; Verbascum thapsus.Shĕp'herd's-nee'dle, n. p. 1218(Bot.) An annual plant of the genus Scandix; Venus's comb.