Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHAPE-LI-NESS, n. [from shapely.]

Beauty or proportion of form. [Little used.]

SHAPE-LY, a. [from shape.]

Well formed; having a regular shape; symmetrical. – Warton.

SHAPE-SMITH, n. [shape and smith.]

One that undertakes to improve the form of the body. [In burlesque.] – Garth.

SHAP-ING, n.

The act of forming a shape. – Coleridge.

SHAP-ING, ppr.

Forming; molding; casting; conceiving; giving form.

SHARD, n. [Sax. sceard, from scearan, to shear, to separate.]

1. A piece or fragment of an earthern vessel or of any brittle substance. [Obs.] – Shak.
2. The shell of an egg or of a snail. – Gower.
3. A plant, [chard.] – Dryden.
4. A frith or strait; as, a perilous shard. – Spenser.
5. A gap.
6. A fish.

SHARD-BORN, a. [shard and born.]

Born or produced among fragments, or in crevices; as, the shardborn beetle. – Shak. Johnson suggests that shard may perhaps signify the sheath of the wings of insects. In this case, the word should be written shardborne, and defined, borne in the air by sheathed wings. Such is Todd's explanation of the word in Shakspeare. The word shard may perhaps be used for the crustaceous wing of an insect, but I know not that such a sense is legitimate. [See Sharded.]

SHARD'ED, a.

1. Having wings sheathed with a hard case; as, the sharded beetle. – Todd, from Gower.
2. Inhabiting shards. – Johnson, from Shak.

SHARE, n. [Sax. scear, sceara, from scearan, to shear; W. ysgar, which is a compound.]

1. A part; A portion; a quantity; as, a small share of prudence or good sense.
2. A part or portion of a thing owned by a number in common; that part of an undivided interest which belongs to each proprietor; as, a ship owned in ten shares; a Tontine building owned in a hundred shares.
3. The part of a thing allotted or distributed to each individual of a number; dividend; separate portion. Each heir has received his share of the estate.
4. A part belonging to one; portion possessed. Nor I without my share of fame. – Dryden.
5. A part contributed. He bears his share of the burden.
6. The broad iron or blade of a plow which cuts the ground; or furrow-slice. – Mortimer. To go shares, to partake; to be equally concerned. – L'Estrange.

SHARE, v.i.

To have part. A right of inheritance gave every one a title to share in the goods of his father. – Locke.

SHARE, v.t. [Sax. scearan, scyran; but we have shear directly from this verb, and share seems to be from the noun; W. ysgariaw.]

1. To divide; to part among two or more. Suppose I share my fortune equally between my children and a stranger. – Swift. And share his burden where he shares his heart. – Dryden.
2. To partake or enjoy with others; to seize and possess jointly or in common. Great Jove with Cesar shares his sov'reign sway. – Milton. While avarice and rapine share the land. – Milton.
3. To cut; to shear. [Not now in use.] And the shar'd visage hangs on equal sides. – Dryden.

SHARE-BONE, n.

The ossa pubis. – Derham.

SHAR-ED, pp.

Held or enjoyed with another or others; divided; distributed in shares.

SHARE-HOLD-ER, n. [share and holder.]

One that holds or owns a share a joint fund or property. One of the proprietors of the mine, who was a principal shareholder in the company, died. – Med. Repos.

SHAR-ER, n.

A partaker; one that participates any thing with another or others; one who enjoys or suffers in common with another or others; as, a sharer in another's good fortune; a sharer in the toils of war; a sharer in a lady's affections.

SHAR-ING, n.

Participation.

SHAR-ING, ppr.

Partaking; having a part with another; enjoying or suffering with others.

SHARK, n. [L. carcharias; Gr. καρχαριας, from καρχαρος, sharp; Corn. skarkias.]

1. A family of voracious cartilaginous fishes of several genera, as Squalus, Carcharies, Scyllium, &c. The body is oblong, tapering and rough, and some species have several rows of serrated teeth. The largest grow to the length of thirty feet.
2. A greedy artful fellow; one who fills his pockets by sly tricks. [Low.] – South.
3. Trick; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark. [Little used.] – South.
4. In New England, one that lives by shifts, contrivance or stratagem.

SHARK, v.i.

1. To play the petty thief; or rather to live by shifts and petty stratagems. [In New England, the common pronunciation is shurk, but the word rarely implies fraud.]
2. To cheat; to trick. [Low.] – Ainsworth.
3. To fawn upon for a dinner; to beg. Johnson. To shark out, to slip out or escape by low artifices. [Vulgar.]

SHARK, v.t.

To pick up hastily, slily or in small quantities. [Low.] – Shak.

SHARK'ER, n.

One that lives by sharking; an artful fellow. – Wotton.

SHARK'ING, n.

1. Petty rapine; trick. – Westfield.
2. The seeking of a livelihood by shifts and devices.

SHARK'ING, ppr.

Picking up in haste; living by petty rapine, or by shifts and devices.

SHARP, a. [Sax. scearp; D. scherp; G. scharf; Dan. and Sw. skarp; Turk. scerp; probably from the root of shear, shire, short; the radical letters being Cr or Gr.]

1. Having a very thin edge or fine point; keen; acute; not blunt. Thus we say, a sharp knife, or a sharp needle. A sharp edge easily severs a substance; a sharp point is easily made to penetrate it.
2. Terminating in a point or edge; not obtuse; as, a hill terminates in a sharp peak, or a sharp ridge.
3. Forming an acute or too small angle at the ridge; as, a sharp roof.
4. Acute of mind; quick to discern or distinguish; penetrating; ready at invention; witty; ingenious. Nothing makes men sharper than want. – Addison. Many other things belong to the material world, wherein the sharpest philosophers have not yet obtained clear ideas. – Watts.
5. Being of quick or nice perception; applied to the senses or organs of perception; as, a sharp eye; sharp sight. To sharp ey'd reason this would seem untrue. – Dryden.
6. Affecting the organs of taste like fine points; sour; acid; as, sharp vinegar; sharp tasted citrons. – Dryden.
7. Affecting the organs of hearing like sharp points; piercing; penetrating; shrill; as, a sharp pound or voice; a sharp note or tone; opposed to a flat note or sound.
8. Severe; harsh; biting; sarcastic; as, sharp words; sharp rebuke. Be thy the words severe, / Sharp as he merits; but the sword forbear. – Dryden.
9. Severely rigid; quick or severe in punishing; cruel. To that place the sharp Athenian law / Can not pursue us. – Shak.
10. Eager for food; keen; as, a sharp appetite.
11. Eager in pursuit; keen in request. My falchion now is sharp and passing empty. – Shak.
12. Fierce; ardent; fiery; violent; as, a sharp contest. A sharp assault already is begun. – Dryden.
13. Keen; severe; pungent; as, sharp pain.
14. Very painful or distressing; as, sharp tribulation; a sharp fit of the gout.
15. Very attentive or vigilant. Sharp at her utmost ken she cast her eyes. – Dryden.
16. Making nice calculations of profit; or close and exact in making bargains or demanding dues. – Swift.
17. Biting; pinching; piercing; as, sharp air; sharp wind or weather. – Ray.
18. Subtil; nice; witty; acute; used of things; as, a sharp discourse.
19. Among workmen, hard; as, sharp sand. – Moxon.
20. Emaciated; lean; thin; as, a sharp visage. – Milton. To brace sharp, in seamanship, to turn the yards to the most oblique position possible, that the ship may lay well up to the wind. – Mar. Dict.

SHARP, n.

1. In music, an acute sound. – Shak.
2. A note artificially raised a semitone; or,
3. The character which directs the note to be thus elevated; opposed to a flat, which depresses a note a semitone. – Encyc.
4. A pointed weapon. [Not in use.]