Shan't A contraction of shall not . [ Colloq.]

Shank noun (Zoology) See Chank .

Shank noun [ Middle English shanke , schanke , schonke , Anglo-Saxon scanca , sceanca , sconca , sceonca ; akin to Dutch schonk a bone, German schenkel thigh, shank, schinken ham, Old High German scincha shank, Dan. & Swedish skank . √161. Confer Skink , v. ]
1. The part of the leg from the knee to the foot; the shin; the shin bone; also, the whole leg.

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank .

Shak.

2. Hence, that part of an instrument, tool, or other thing, which connects the acting part with a handle or other part, by which it is held or moved. Specifically: (a) That part of a key which is between the bow and the part which enters the wards of the lock. (b) The middle part of an anchor, or that part which is between the ring and the arms. See Illustr . of Anchor . (c) That part of a hoe, rake, knife, or the like, by which it is secured to a handle. (d) A loop forming an eye to a button.

3. (Architecture) The space between two channels of the Doric triglyph. Gwilt.

4. (Founding) A large ladle for molten metal, fitted with long bars for handling it.

5. (Print.) The body of a type.

6. (Shoemaking) The part of the sole beneath the instep connecting the broader front part with the heel.

7. (Zoology) A wading bird with long legs; as, the green-legged shank , or knot; the yellow shank , or tattler; -- called also shanks .

8. plural Flat-nosed pliers, used by opticians for nipping off the edges of pieces of glass to make them round.

Shank painter (Nautical) , a short rope or chain which holds the shank of an anchor against the side of a vessel when it is secured for a voyage. -- To ride shank's mare , to go on foot; to walk.

Shank intransitive verb To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; -- usually followed by off . Darwin.

Shankbeer noun See Schenkbeer .

Shanked adjective Having a shank.

Shanker noun (Medicine) See Chancre .

Shanny noun ; plural Shannies . [ Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoology) The European smooth blenny ( Blennius pholis ). It is olive-green with irregular black spots, and without appendages on the head.

Shanty adjective Jaunty; showy. [ Prov. Eng.]

Shanty noun ; plural Shanties . [ Said to be from Ir. sean old + tig . a house.] A small, mean dwelling; a rough, slight building for temporary use; a hut.

Shanty intransitive verb To inhabit a shanty. S. H. Hammond.

Shapable adjective
1. That may be shaped.

2. Shapely. [ R.] "Round and shapable ." De Foe.

Shape (shāp) transitive verb [ imperfect Shaped (shāpt); past participle Shaped or Shapen (shāp"'n); present participle & verbal noun Shaping .] [ Middle English shapen , schapen , Anglo-Saxon sceapian . The past participle shapen is from the strong verb, Anglo-Saxon scieppan , scyppan , sceppan , past participle sceapen . See Shape , noun ]
1. To form or create; especially, to mold or make into a particular form; to give proper form or figure to.

I was shapen in iniquity.

Ps. li. 5.

Grace shaped her limbs, and beauty decked her face.

Prior.

2. To adapt to a purpose; to regulate; to adjust; to direct; as, to shape the course of a vessel.

To the stream, when neither friends, nor force,
Nor speed nor art avail, he shapes his course.

Denham.

Charmed by their eyes, their manners I acquire,
And shape my foolishness to their desire.

Prior.

3. To image; to conceive; to body forth.

Oft my jealousy
Shapes faults that are not.

Shak.

4. To design; to prepare; to plan; to arrange.

When shapen was all this conspiracy,
From point to point.

Chaucer.

Shaping machine . (Machinery) Same as Shaper . -- To shape one's self , to prepare; to make ready. [ Obsolete]

I will early shape me therefor.

Chaucer.

Shape (shāp) intransitive verb To suit; to be adjusted or conformable. [ R.] Shak.

Shape noun [ Middle English shap , schap , Anglo-Saxon sceap in gesceap creation, creature, from the root of scieppan , scyppan , sceppan , to shape, to do, to effect; akin to Old Saxon gi skeppian , OFries. skeppa , Dutch scheppen , German schaffen , Old High German scaffan , scepfen , skeffen , Icer. skapa , skepja , Danish skabe , skaffe , Swedish skapa , skaffa , Goth. ga skapjan , and perhaps to English shave , v. Confer -ship .]
1. Character or construction of a thing as determining its external appearance; outward aspect; make; figure; form; guise; as, the shape of a tree; the shape of the head; an elegant shape .

He beat me grievously, in the shape of a woman.

Shak.

2. That which has form or figure; a figure; an appearance; a being.

Before the gates three sat,
On either side, a formidable shape .

Milton.

3. A model; a pattern; a mold.

4. Form of embodiment, as in words; form, as of thought or conception; concrete embodiment or example, as of some quality. Milton.

5. Dress for disguise; guise. [ Obsolete]

Look better on this virgin, and consider
This Persian shape laid by, and she appearing
In a Greekish dress.

Messinger.

6. (Iron Manuf.) (a) A rolled or hammered piece, as a bar, beam, angle iron, etc., having a cross section different from merchant bar. (b) A piece which has been roughly forged nearly to the form it will receive when completely forged or fitted.

To take shape , to assume a definite form.

Shapeless adjective Destitute of shape or regular form; wanting symmetry of dimensions; misshapen; -- opposed to shapely . -- Shape"less*ness , noun

The shapeless rock, or hanging precipice.

Pope.

Shapeliness noun The quality or state of being shapely.

Shapely adjective [ Compar. Shapelier ; superl. Shapeliest .]
1. Well-formed; having a regular shape; comely; symmetrical. T. Warton.

Waste sandy valleys, once perplexed with thorn,
The spiry fir and shapely box adorn.

Pope.

Where the shapely column stood.

Couper.

2. Fit; suitable. [ Obsolete]

Shaply for to be an alderman.

Chaucer.

Shaper noun
1. One who shapes; as, the shaper of one's fortunes.

The secret of those old shapers died with them.

Lowell.

2. That which shapes; a machine for giving a particular form or outline to an object. Specifically; (a) (Metal Working) A kind of planer in which the tool, instead of the work, receives a reciprocating motion, usually from a crank. (b) (Wood Working) A machine with a vertically revolving cutter projecting above a flat table top, for cutting irregular outlines, moldings, etc.

Shapoo noun (Zoology) The oörial.

Shaps noun plural [ Shortened from chaparajos . Confer Chaps .] Chaparajos. [ Western U. S.]

A pair of gorgeous buckskin shaps , embroidered up the sides and adorned with innumerable ermine skins.

The Century.

Shard (shärd) noun A plant; chard. [ Obsolete] Dryden.

Shard noun [ Anglo-Saxon sceard , properly a past participle from the root of scearn to shear, to cut; akin to Dutch schaard a fragment, German scharte a notch, Icelandic skarð . See Shear , and confer Sherd .] [ Written also sheard , and sherd .]
1. A piece or fragment of an earthen vessel, or a like brittle substance, as the shell of an egg or snail. Shak.

The precious dish
Broke into shards of beauty on the board.

E. Arnold.

2. (Zoology) The hard wing case of a beetle.

They are his shards , and he their beetle.

Shak.

3. A gap in a fence. [ Obsolete] Stanyhurst.

4. A boundary; a division. [ Obsolete & R.] Spenser.

Shard-borne adjective Borne on shards or scaly wing cases. "The shard-borne beetle." Shak.

Sharded adjective (Zoology) Having elytra, as a beetle.

Shardy adjective Having, or consisting of, shards.

Share noun [ Middle English schar , Anglo-Saxon scear ; akin to Old High German scaro , German schar , pflug shar , and English shear , v. See Shear .]
1. The part (usually an iron or steel plate) of a plow which cuts the ground at the bottom of a furrow; a plowshare.

2. The part which opens the ground for the reception of the seed, in a machine for sowing seed. Knight.

Share noun [ Middle English share , Anglo-Saxon scearu , scaru , from sceran to shear, cut. See Shear , v. ]
1. A certain quantity; a portion; a part; a division; as, a small share of prudence.

2. Especially, the part allotted or belonging to one, of any property or interest owned by a number; a portion among others; an apportioned lot; an allotment; a dividend. "My share of fame." Dryden.

3. Hence, one of a certain number of equal portions into which any property or invested capital is divided; as, a ship owned in ten shares .

4. The pubes; the sharebone. [ Obsolete] Holland.

To go shares , to partake; to be equally concerned. -- Share and share alike , in equal shares.

Share transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shared ; present participle & verbal noun Sharing .]
1. To part among two or more; to distribute in portions; to divide.

Suppose I share my fortune equally between my children and a stranger.

Swift.

2. To partake of, use, or experience, with others; to have a portion of; to take and possess in common; as, to share a shelter with another.

While avarice and rapine share the land.

Milton.

3. To cut; to shear; to cleave; to divide. [ Obsolete]

The shared visage hangs on equal sides.

Dryden.

Share intransitive verb To have part; to receive a portion; to partake, enjoy, or suffer with others.

A right of inheritance gave every one a title to share in the goods of his father.

Locke.

Sharebeam noun The part of the plow to which the share is attached.

Sharebone noun (Anat.) The public bone.

Sharebroker noun A broker who deals in railway or other shares and securities.

Shareholder noun One who holds or owns a share or shares in a joint fund or property.

Sharer noun One who shares; a participator; a partaker; also, a divider; a distributer.

Sharewort noun (Botany) A composite plant ( Aster Tripolium ) growing along the seacoast of Europe.

Shark noun [ Of uncertain origin; perhaps through Old French from carcharus a kind of dogfish, Greek karchari`as , so called from its sharp teeth, from ka`rcharos having sharp or jagged teeth; or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf. Shark , transitive verb & i. ); confer Corn. scarceas .]
1. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.

» Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark, grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly belong to the genera Carcharhinus , Carcharodon , and related genera. They have several rows of large sharp teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias, or Rondeleti ) of tropical seas, and the great blue shark ( Carcharhinus glaucus ) of all tropical and temperate seas. The former sometimes becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most voracious and dangerous species known. The rare man-eating shark of the United States coast ( Charcarodon Atwoodi ) is thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of C. carcharias . The dusky shark ( Carcharhinus obscurus ), and the smaller blue shark ( C. caudatus ), both common species on the coast of the United States, are of moderate size and not dangerous. They feed on shellfish and bottom fishes.

2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [ Colloq.]

3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark . [ Obsolete] South.

Baskin shark , Liver shark , Nurse shark , Oil shark , Sand shark , Tiger shark , etc. See under Basking , Liver , etc. See also Dogfish , Houndfish , Notidanian , and Tope . -- Gray shark , the sand shark. -- Hammer-headed shark . See Hammerhead . -- Port Jackson shark . See Cestraciont . -- Shark barrow , the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse. -- Shark ray . Same as Angel fish (a) , under Angel . -- Thrasher shark, or Thresher shark , a large, voracious shark. See Thrasher . -- Whale shark , a huge harmless shark ( Rhinodon typicus ) of the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length, but has very small teeth.

Shark transitive verb [ Of uncertain origin; perhaps from shark , noun , or perhaps related to English shear (as hearken to hear ), and originally meaning, to clip off. Confer Shirk .] To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Shark intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Sharked ; present participle & verbal noun Sharking .]
1. To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.

Neither sharks for a cup or a reckoning.

Bp. Earle.

2. To live by shifts and stratagems. Beau. & Fl.

Sharker noun One who lives by sharking.

Sharking noun Petty rapine; trick; also, seeking a livelihood by shifts and dishonest devices.

Sharock noun An East Indian coin of the value of 12½ pence sterling, or about 25 cents.

Sharp adjective [ Compar. Sharper ; superl. Sharpest .] [ Middle English sharp , scharp , scarp , Anglo-Saxon scearp ; akin to Old Saxon skarp , LG. scharp , Dutch scherp , German scharf , Dan. & Swedish skarp , Icelandic skarpr . Confer Escarp , Scrape , Scorpion .]
1. Having a very thin edge or fine point; of a nature to cut or pierce easily; not blunt or dull; keen.

He dies upon my scimeter's sharp point.

Shak.

2. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse or rounded; somewhat pointed or edged; peaked or ridged; as, a sharp hill; sharp features.

3. Affecting the sense as if pointed or cutting, keen, penetrating, acute: to the taste or smell, pungent, acid, sour, as ammonia has a sharp taste and odor; to the hearing, piercing, shrill, as a sharp sound or voice; to the eye, instantaneously brilliant, dazzling, as a sharp flash.

4. (Mus.) (a) High in pitch; acute; as, a sharp note or tone. (b) Raised a semitone in pitch; as, C sharp (C♯), which is a half step, or semitone, higher than C. (c) So high as to be out of tune, or above true pitch; as, the tone is sharp ; that instrument is sharp . Opposed in all these senses to flat .

5. Very trying to the feelings; piercing; keen; severe; painful; distressing; as, sharp pain, weather; a sharp and frosty air.

Sharp misery had worn him to the bones.

Shak.

The morning sharp and clear.

Cowper.

In sharpest perils faithful proved.

Keble.

6. Cutting in language or import; biting; sarcastic; cruel; harsh; rigorous; severe; as, a sharp rebuke. "That sharp look." Tennyson.

To that place the sharp Athenian law
Can not pursue us.

Shak.

Be thy words severe,
Sharp as merits but the sword forbear.

Dryden.

7. Of keen perception; quick to discern or distinguish; having nice discrimination; acute; penetrating; sagacious; clever; as, a sharp eye; sharp sight, hearing, or judgment.

Nothing makes men sharper . . . than want.

Addison.

Many other things belong to the material world, wherein the sharpest philosophers have never ye... arrived at clear and distinct ideas.

Latin Watts.

8. Eager in pursuit; keen in quest; impatient for gratification; keen; as, a sharp appetite.

9. Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; impetuous. "In sharp contest of battle." Milton.

A sharp assault already is begun.

Dryden.

10. Keenly or unduly attentive to one's own interest; close and exact in dealing; shrewd; as, a sharp dealer; a sharp customer.

The necessity of being so sharp and exacting.

Swift.

11. Composed of hard, angular grains; gritty; as, sharp sand. Moxon.

12. Steep; precipitous; abrupt; as, a sharp ascent or descent; a sharp turn or curve.

13. (Phonetics) Uttered in a whisper, or with the breath alone, without voice, as certain consonants, such as p , k , t , f ; surd; nonvocal; aspirated.

» Sharp is often used in the formation of self- explaining compounds; as, sharp -cornered, sharp -edged, sharp -pointed, sharp -tasted, sharp -visaged, etc.

Sharp practice , the getting of an advantage, or the attempt to do so, by a tricky expedient. -- To brace sharp , or To sharp up (Nautical) , to turn the yards to the most oblique position possible, that the ship may lie well up to the wind.

Syn. -- Keen; acute; piercing; penetrating; quick; sagacious; discerning; shrewd; witty; ingenious; sour; acid; tart; pungent; acrid; severe; poignant; biting; acrimonious; sarcastic; cutting; bitter; painful; afflictive; violent; harsh; fierce; ardent; fiery.

Sharp adverb
1. To a point or edge; piercingly; eagerly; sharply. M. Arnold.

The head [ of a spear] full sharp yground.

Chaucer.

You bite so sharp at reasons.

Shak.

2. Precisely; exactly; as, we shall start at ten o'clock sharp . [ Colloq.]

Look sharp , attend; be alert. [ Colloq.]

Sharp noun
1. A sharp tool or weapon. [ Obsolete]

If butchers had but the manners to go to sharps , gentlemen would be contented with a rubber at cuffs.

Collier.

2. (Mus.) (a) The character [ ♯] used to indicate that the note before which it is placed is to be raised a half step, or semitone, in pitch. (b) A sharp tone or note. Shak.

3. A portion of a stream where the water runs very rapidly. [ Prov. Eng.] C. Kingsley.

4. A sewing needle having a very slender point; a needle of the most pointed of the three grades, blunts , betweens , and sharps .

5. plural Same as Middlings , 1.

6. An expert. [ Slang]

Sharp transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Sharped ; present participle & verbal noun Sharping .]
1. To sharpen. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

2. (Mus.) To raise above the proper pitch; to elevate the tone of; especially, to raise a half step, or semitone, above the natural tone.

Sharp intransitive verb
1. To play tricks in bargaining; to act the sharper. L'Estrange.

2. (Mus.) To sing above the proper pitch.

Sharp-cut adjective Cut sharply or definitely, or so as to make a clear, well-defined impression, as the lines of an engraved plate, and the like; clear-cut; hence, having great distinctness; well-defined; clear.

Sharpen transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Sarpened ; present participle & verbal noun Sharpening .] [ See Sharp , adjective ] To make sharp. Specifically: (a) To give a keen edge or fine point to; to make sharper; as, to sharpen an ax, or the teeth of a saw. (b) To render more quick or acute in perception; to make more ready or ingenious.

The air . . . sharpened his visual ray
To objects distant far.

Milton.

He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.

Burke.

(c) To make more eager; as, to sharpen men's desires.

Epicurean cooks
Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite.

Shak.

(d) To make more pungent and intense; as, to sharpen a pain or disease. (e) To make biting, sarcastic, or severe. " Sharpen each word." E. Smith. (f) To render more shrill or piercing.

Inclosures not only preserve sound, but increase and sharpen it.

Bacon.

(g) To make more tart or acid; to make sour; as, the rays of the sun sharpen vinegar. (h) (Mus.) To raise, as a sound, by means of a sharp; to apply a sharp to.

Sharpen intransitive verb To grow or become sharp.