Emily Dickinson Lexicon

shift (-ed, -s), v. [OE 'determine, separate, divide, classify, arrange in order'.]

1. Change; alter.
2. Reposition.
3. Move; displace; cause to move.
4. End; terminate; conclude; [fig.] die; pass on.
5. Glide; careen; sway.
6. Push; drive; rearrange; relocate; pile up because of wind forces.
7. Evade; turn aside in a different direction.
8. Drift; blow away; [fig.] die; pass on to the next life.