Shower Show"er noun 1. One who shows or exhibits.

2. That which shows; a mirror. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Shower Show"er noun [ Middle English shour , schour , Anglo-Saxon se...r ; akin to Dutch schoer , German schauer , Old High German sc...r , Icelandic sk...r , Swedish skur , Goth. sk...ra windis a storm of wind; of uncertain origin.] 1. A fall or rain or hail of short duration; sometimes, but rarely, a like fall of snow.

In drought or else showers .

Chaucer.

Or wet the thirsty earth with falling showers .

Milton.

2. That which resembles a shower in falling or passing through the air copiously and rapidly.

With showers of stones he drives them far away.

Pope.

3. A copious supply bestowed. [ R.]

He and myself
Have travail'd in the great shower of your gifts.

Shak.

Shower bath , a bath in which water is showered from above, and sometimes from the sides also.

Shower Show"er transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Showered ; present participle & verbal noun Showering .] 1. To water with a shower; to ......t copiously with rain.

Lest it again dissolve and shower the earth.

Milton.

2. To bestow liberally; to destribute or scatter in ...undance; to rain. Shak.

C...sar's favor,
That showers down greatness on his friends.

Addison.

Shower Show"er intransitive verb To rain in showers; to fall, as in a hower or showers. Shak.

Showerful Show"er·ful adjective Full of showers. Tennyson.

Showeriness Show"er·i·ness noun Quality of being showery.

Showerless Show"er·less adjective Rainless; freo from showers.

Showery Show"er·y adjective 1. Raining in showers; abounding with frequent showers of rain.

2. Of or pertaining to a shower or showers. "Colors of the showery arch." Milton.

Showily Show"i·ly adverb In a showy manner; pompously; with parade.

Showiness Show"i·ness noun The quality or state of being showy; pompousness; great parade; ostentation.

Showing Show"ing noun 1. Appearance; display; exhibition.

2. Presentation of facts; statement. J. S. Mill.

Showish Show"ish adjective Showy; ostentatious. Swift.

Showman Show"man noun ; plural Showmen . One who exhibits a show; a proprietor of a show.

Shown Shown past participle of Show .

Showroom Show"room` noun A room or apartment where a show is exhibited.

2. A room where merchandise is exposed for sale, or where samples are displayed.

Showy Show"y adjective [ Compar . Showier ; superl . Showiest .] Making a show; attracting attention; presenting a marked appearance; ostentatious; gay; gaudy.

A present of everything that was rich and showy .

Addison.

Syn. -- Splendid; gay; gaudy; gorgeous; fine; magnificent; grand; stately; sumptuous; pompous.

Shrag Shrag noun [ CF. Scrag .] A twig of a tree cut off. [ Obsolete]

Shrag Shrag transitive verb To trim, as trees; to lop. [ Obsolete]

Shragger Shrag"ger noun One who lops; one who trims trees. [ Obsolete] Huloet.

Shram Shram transitive verb [ Confer Shrink.] To cause to shrink or shrivel with cold; to benumb. [ Prov. Eng.]

Shrank Shrank imperfect of Shrink .

Shrap, Shrape Shrap, Shrape noun [ Confer Scrap , and Scrape .] A place baited with chaff to entice birds. [ Written also scrap .] [ Obsolete] Bp. Bedell.

Shrapnel Shrap"nel adjective Applied as an appellation to a kind of shell invented by Gen. H. Shrapnel of the British army. -- noun A shrapnel shell; shrapnel shells, collectively.

Shrapnel shell (Gunnery) , a projectile for a cannon, consisting of a shell filled with bullets and a small bursting charge to scatter them at any given point while in flight. See the Note under Case shot .

Shred Shred noun [ Middle English shrede , schrede , Anglo-Saxon screáde ; akin to OD. schroode , German schrot a piece cut off, Icelandic skrjoðr a shred, and to English shroud . Confer Screed , Scroll , Scrutiny .] 1. A long, narrow piece cut or torn off; a strip. " Shreds of tanned leather." Bacon.

2. In general, a fragment; a piece; a particle. Shak.

Shred Shred transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shred or Shredded ; present participle & verbal noun Shredding .] [ Middle English shreden , schreden , Anglo-Saxon screádian ; akin to OD. schrooden , Old High German scr...tan , German schroten . See Shred , noun ] 1. To cut or tear into small pieces, particularly narrow and long pieces, as of cloth or leather. Chaucer.

2. To lop; to prune; to trim. [ Obsolete]

Shredcook Shred"cook` noun (Zoology) The fieldfare; -- so called from its harsh cry before rain. [ Prov. Eng.]

Shredding Shred"ding noun 1. The act of cutting or tearing into shreds.

2. That which is cut or torn off; a piece. Hooker.

Shreddy Shred"dy adjective Consisting of shreds.

Shredless Shred"less adjective Having no shreds; without a shred.

And those which waved are shredless dust ere now.

Byron.

Shrew Shrew adjective [ Middle English shrewe , schrewe . Confer Shrewd .] Wicked; malicious. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Shrew Shrew noun [ See Shrew , adjective ] 1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold.

A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [ i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else that good men have adversity.

Chaucer.

A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house for her.

L'Estrange.

2. [ Anglo-Saxon screáwa ; -- so called because supposed to be venomous. ] (Zoology) Any small insectivore of the genus Sorex and several allied genera of the family Sorecidæ . In form and color they resemble mice, but they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are the smallest of all mammals.

» The common European species are the house shrew ( Crocidura araneus ), and the erd shrew ( Sorex vulgaris ) (see under Erd .). In the United States several species of Sorex and Blarina are common, as the broadnosed shrew ( S. platyrhinus ), Cooper's shrew ( S. Cooperi ), and the short-tailed, or mole, shrew ( Blarina brevicauda ). Th American water, or marsh, shrew ( Neosorex palustris ), with fringed feet, is less common. The common European water shrews are Crossopus fodiens , and the oared shrew (see under Oared ).

Earth shrew , any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family Centetidæ , as the tendrac. -- Elephant shrew , Jumping shrew , Mole shrew . See under Elephant , Jumping , etc. -- Musk shrew . See Desman . -- River shrew , an aquatic West African insectivore ( Potamogale velox ) resembling a weasel in form and size, but having a large flattened and crested tail adapted for rapid swimming. It feeds on fishes. -- Shrew mole , a common large North American mole ( Scalops aquaticus ). Its fine, soft fur is gray with iridescent purple tints.

Shrew Shrew transitive verb [ See Shrew , adjective , and confer Beshrew .] To beshrew; to curse. [ Obsolete] "I shrew myself." Chaucer.

Shrewd Shrewd adjective [ Compar. Shrewder ; superl. Shrewdest .] [ Originally the past participle of shrew , v.t.] 1. Inclining to shrew; disposing to curse or scold; hence, vicious; malicious; evil; wicked; mischievous; vexatious; rough; unfair; shrewish. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

[ Egypt] hath many shrewd havens, because of the great rocks that ben strong and dangerous to pass by.

Sir J. Mandeville.

Every of this happy number
That have endured shrewd days and nights with us.

Shak.

2. Artful; wily; cunning; arch.

These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues.

Shak.

3. Able or clever in practical affairs; sharp in business; astute; sharp-witted; sagacious; keen; as, a shrewd observer; a shrewd design; a shrewd reply.

Professing to despise the ill opinion of mankind creates a shrewd suspicion that we have deserved it.

Secker.

Syn. -- Keen; critical; subtle; artful; astute; sagacious; discerning; acute; penetrating. -- Shrewd , Sagacious . One who is shrewd is keen to detect errors, to penetrate disguises, to foresee and guard against the selfishness of others. Shrewd is a word of less dignity than sagacious , which implies a comprehensive as well as penetrating mind, whereas shrewd does not.

-- Shrewd"ly , adverb -- Shrewd"ness , noun

Shrewish Shrew"ish adjective having the qualities of a shrew; having a scolding disposition; froward; peevish.

My wife is shrewish when I keep not hours.

Shak.

-- Shrew"ish*ly , adverb -- Shrew"ish*ness , noun

Shrewmouse Shrew"mouse` noun (Zoology) A shrew; especially, the erd shrew.

Shriek Shriek intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shrieked ; present participle & verbal noun Shrieking .] [ Middle English shriken , originallythe same word as English screech . See Screech , and confer Screak .] To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish.

It was the owl that shrieked .

Shak.

At this she shrieked aloud; the mournful train
Echoed her grief.

Dryden.

Shriek Shriek transitive verb To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks.

On top whereof aye dwelt the ghostly owl,
Shrieking his baleful note.

Spenser.

She shrieked his name
To the dark woods.

Moore.

Shriek Shriek noun A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.

Shrieks , clamors, murmurs, fill the frighted town.

Dryden.

Shriek owl . (Zoology) (a) The screech owl . (b) The swift; -- so called from its cry.

Shrieker Shriek"er noun One who utters a shriek.

Shrieval Shriev"al adjective Of or pertaining to a sheriff.

Shrievalty Shriev"al·ty noun [ Contr. from sheriffalty . See Shrieve , noun Sheriff .] The office, or sphere of jurisdiction, of a sheriff; sheriffalty.

It was ordained by 28 Edward I that the people shall have election of sheriff in every shire where the shrievalty is not of inheritance.

Blackstone.

Shrieve Shrieve noun [ Contr. from Middle English shereve . See Sheriff .] A sheriff. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Shrieve Shrieve transitive verb To shrive; to question. [ Obsolete] "She gan him soft to shrieve ." Spenser.

Shrift Shrift noun [ Middle English shrift , schrift , Anglo-Saxon scrift , from scrīfan to shrive. See Shrive .] 1. The act of shriving.

In shrift and preaching is my diligence.

Chaucer.

2. Confession made to a priest, and the absolution consequent upon it. Chaucer.

Have you got leave to go to shrift to- day?

Shak.

Therefore, my lord, address you to your shrift ,
And be yourself; for you must die this instant.

Rowe.

Shrift father , a priest to whom confession is made.

Shright Shright obsolete imperfect & past participle of Shriek .

She cried alway and shright .

Chaucer.

Shright Shright noun [ See Shriek .] A shriek; shrieking. [ Obs] Spenser. "All hoarse for shright ." Chaucer.

Shrike Shrike noun [ Akin to Icelandic skrīkja a shrieker, the shrike, and English shriek ; confer Anglo-Saxon scrīc a thrush. See Shriek , intransitive verb ] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of oscinine birds of the family Laniidæ , having a strong hooked bill, toothed at the tip. Most shrikes are insectivorous, but the common European gray shrike ( Lanius excubitor ), the great northern shrike ( Latin borealis ), and several others, kill mice, small birds, etc., and often impale them on thorns, and are, on that account called also butcher birds . See under Butcher .

» The ant shrikes, or bush shrikes, are clamatorial birds of the family Formicaridæ . The cuckoo shrikes of the East Indies and Australia are Oscines of the family Campephagidæ . The drongo shrikes of the same regions belong to the related family Dicruridæ . See Drongo .

Crow shrike . See under Crow . -- Shrike thrush . (a) Any one of several species of Asiatic timaline birds of the genera Thamnocataphus , Gampsorhynchus , and allies . (b) Any one of several species of shrikelike Australian singing birds of the genus Colluricincla . -- Shrike tit . (a) Any one of several Australian birds of the genus Falcunculus , having a strong toothed bill and sharp claws. They creep over the bark of trees, like titmice, in search of insects. (b) Any one of several species of small Asiatic birds belonging to Allotrius , Pteruthius , Cutia , Leioptila , and allied genera, related to the true tits. Called also hill tit . -- Swallow shrike . See under Swallow .

Shrill Shrill adjective [ Compar. Shriller ; superl. Shrillest .] [ Middle English shril , schril ; akin to LG. schrell , German schrill . See Shrill , intransitive verb ] Acute; sharp; piercing; having or emitting a sharp, piercing tone or sound; -- said of a sound, or of that which produces a sound.

Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give
To sounds confused.

Shak.

Let winds be shrill , let waves roll high.

Byron.

Shrill Shrill noun A shrill sound. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Shrill Shrill intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Shrilled ; present participle & verbal noun Shrilling .] [ Middle English schrillen , akin to German schrillen ; confer Anglo-Saxon scralletan to resound loudly, Icelandic skrölta to jolt, Swedish skrälla to shrill, Norw. skryla , skr...la . Confer Skirl .] To utter an acute, piercing sound; to sound with a sharp, shrill tone; to become shrill.

Break we our pipes, that shrilled loud as lark.

Spenser.

No sounds were heard but of the shrilling cock.

Goldsmith.

His voice shrilled with passion.

Latin Wallace.

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