Emily Dickinson Lexicon

shady, adj. [see shade, n.]

Cool; unaffected; shaded; protected by shade.

shaft (-s), n. [OE 'make, create, shape'.]

1. Pole; straight object. J1396/Fr1453 So constant to it's stolid trust / The Shaft that never knew.
2. Handle of a weapon; long part of a spear; wooden projectile for an arrow. J1346/Fr1341 So we evade the Charge of Years / On one attempting shy / The Circumvention of the shaft / Of Life's Declivity
3. Pit; tunnel; entrance into a mine; long narrow opening. J1649/Fr1735 A Chill came up as from a shaft / Our noon became a well
4. Headstone; grave marker. J531/Fr584 Lest … livid Surprise / Cool us to Shafts of Granite – / With just an age – and a name

shaggy (shaggier), adj. [OE sceacga.]

Unkempt; long, rough nap; rough or coarse in texture.

shake (-s, shook), v. [OE scacan, depart, push, displace.]

Quiver; quake; vibrate; waver.

Shakespeare, proper n. [see shake and spear.]

William Shakespeare (1564-1616); the Poet; the Bard; Early Modern English author; creator of Renaissance plays and sonnets; greatest playwright of all time; man who wrote Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet (see ED's letters).

shall (shalt), v. [OE 'owe, guilt, debt, admonish'.]

shallow, adj. [OE 'shoal'.]

Not deep, having little extension in a downward direction

sham, n. [of obscure origin; see shame, n.]

Trick; hoax; fraud; imposture; something devised to impose upon, delude, or disappoint expectation.

sham, v. [see sham, n.]

To cheat; trick; deceive; delude with false pretences; impose upon; take in; hoax.

shame, n. [OE 'to be ashamed'.]

Disgrace; ignominy; loss of esteem or reputation.