shear

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Verb 1.3.1 Translations 1.4 Noun 1.4.1 Derived terms 1.4.2 Translations

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Old English scieran, from Proto-Germanic *skeran, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-. Cognate with Dutch scheren, German scheren, Norwegian skjære, Swedish skära; and (from Indo-European) with Ancient Greek κείρω (keirō), “‘I cut off’”), Latin caro (“‘flesh’”), Lithuanian skìrti (“‘separate’”), Welsh ysgar (“‘separate’”).

[edit] Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /ʃiɹ/, SAMPA: /Sir/

  Rhymes: -ir

• (UK) IPA: /ʃɪə(ɹ)/, SAMPA: /SI(r)/

  Rhymes: -ɪə(r)

•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Homophones: sheer

[edit] Verb

to shear (third-person singular simple present shears, present participle shearing, simple past sheared or shore, past participle shorn or sheared)

1. To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     So trenchant was the Templar’s weapon, that it shore asunder, as it had been a willow twig, the tough and plaited handle of the mace, which the ill-fated Saxon reared to parry the blow, and, descending on his head, levelled him with the earth.

2. To remove the fleece from a sheep etc by clipping
3. (physics) To deform because of shearing forces

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

shear (plural shears)

1. a cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger
2. the act of shearing, or something removed by shearing
3. (physics) a force that produces a shearing strain

[edit] Derived terms

• shearer

[edit] Translations