Shore Shore noun [ Middle English
schore , Anglo-Saxon
score , probably from
scieran , and so meaning properly, that which is shorn off, edge; akin to OD.
schoore ,
schoor . See
Shear ,
transitive verb ]
The coast or land adjacent to a large body of water, as an ocean, lake, or large river. Michael Cassio,
Lieutenant to the warlike Moor Othello,
Is come shore .
Shak. The fruitful shore of muddy Nile.
Spenser. In shore ,
near the shore. Marryat. --
On shore .
See under On . --
Shore birds (Zoology) ,
a collective name for the various limicoline birds found on the seashore. --
Shore crab (Zoology) ,
any crab found on the beaches, or between tides, especially any one of various species of grapsoid crabs, as Heterograpsus nudus of California. --
Shore lark (Zoology) ,
a small American lark ( Otocoris alpestris ) found in winter, both on the seacoast and on the Western plains. Its upper parts are varied with dark brown and light brown. It has a yellow throat, yellow local streaks, a black crescent on its breast, a black streak below each eye, and two small black erectile ear tufts. Called also horned lark . --
Shore plover (Zoology) ,
a large-billed Australian plover ( Esacus magnirostris ). It lives on the seashore, and feeds on crustaceans, etc. --
Shore teetan (Zoology) ,
the rock pipit ( Anthus obscurus ). [ Prov. Eng.]
Short Short adjective [
Compar. Shorter ;
superl. Shortest .] [ Middle English
short ,
schort , Anglo-Saxon
scort ,
sceort ; akin to Old High German
scurz , Icelandic
skorta to be short of, to lack, and perhaps to English
shear , transitive verb Confer
Shirt .]
1. Not long; having brief length or linear extension; as, a short distance; a short piece of timber; a short flight. The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it.
Isa. xxviii. 20. 2. Not extended in time; having very limited duration; not protracted; as, short breath. The life so short , the craft so long to learn.
Chaucer. To short absense I could yield.
Milton. 3. Limited in quantity; inadequate; insufficient; scanty; as, a short supply of provisions, or of water. 4. Insufficiently provided; inadequately supplied; scantily furnished; lacking; not coming up to a resonable, or the ordinary, standard; -- usually with of ; as, to be short of money. We shall be short in our provision.
Shak. 5. Deficient; defective; imperfect; not coming up, as to a measure or standard; as, an account which is short of the trith. 6. Not distant in time; near at hand. Marinell was sore offended
That his departure thence should be so short .
Spenser. He commanded those who were appointed to attend him to be ready by a short day.
Clarendon. 7. Limited in intellectual power or grasp; not comprehensive; narrow; not tenacious, as memory. Their own short understandings reach
No farther than the present.
Rowe. 8. Less important, efficaceous, or powerful; not equal or equivalent; less (than); -- with of . Hardly anything short of an invasion could rouse them again to war.
Landor. 9. Abrupt; brief; pointed; petulant; as, he gave a short answer to the question. 10. (Cookery) Breaking or crumbling readily in the mouth; crisp; as, short pastry. 11. (Metal) Brittle. » Metals that are brittle when hot are called
...ot- short ; as, cast iron may be
hot-short , owing to the presence of sulphur. Those that are brittle when cold are called
cold-short ; as, cast iron may be
cold-short , on account of the presence of phosphorus.
12. (Stock Exchange) Engaging or engaged to deliver what is not possessed; as, short contracts; to be short of stock. See The shorts , under Short , noun , and To sell short , under Short , adverb » In mercantile transactions, a note or bill is sometimes made payable
at short sight , that is, in a little time after being presented to the payer.
13. (Phon.) Not prolonged, or relatively less prolonged, in utterance; -- opposed to long , and applied to vowels or to syllables. In English, the long and short of the same letter are not, in most cases, the long and short of the same sound; thus, the i in ill is the short sound, not of i in isle , but of ee in eel , and the e in pet is the short sound of a in pate , etc. See Quantity , and Guide to Pronunciation , §§22, 30. »
Short is much used with participles to form numerous self-explaining compounds; as,
short -armed,
short - billed,
short -fingered,
short -haired,
short - necked,
short -sleeved,
short -tailed,
short - winged,
short -wooled, etc.
At short notice ,
in a brief time; promptly. --
Short rib (Anat.) ,
one of the false ribs. --
Short suit (Whist) ,
any suit having only three cards, or less than three. R. A. Proctor. --
To come short ,
To cut short ,
To fall short ,
etc. See under Come , Cut , etc.