Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHED, v.t.¹ [pret. and pp. shed. Sax. scedan, to pour out. If s is a prefix, this word coincides in elements with D. gieten, to pour, to cast, G. giessen, Eng. gush. It coincides also in elements with shoot. See the Noun.]

1. To cause or stiffer to flow out; as, to shed tears; to shed blood. The sun sheds light on the earth; the stars shed a more feeble light. This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. – Matth. xxvi.
2. To let fall; to cast; as the trees shed their leaves in autumn; fowls shed their feathers; and serpents shed their skin.
3. To scatter; to emit; to throw off; to diffuse; as, flowers shed their sweets or fragrance. [The peculiar sense of this word is to cast off something that belongs to the body, either a substance or a quality. Applied to animals and plants, it expresses a periodical casting off of a natural covering.]