shield

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English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keit-, *(s)keid-, *kheit- (“shield, cover”). Cognate with West Frisian skyld, Dutch schild (“shield”), German Schild (“shield”), Danish skjold (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”), Latin scūtum (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”).

Noun[edit]

shield (plural shields)

  1. A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Henry V, Act III, Scene II, line 8:
      Knock go and come; God's vassals drop and die; And sword and shield, In bloody field, Doth win immortal fame.
    • 1786, Francis Grose, A Treatise on Ancient Armour and Weapons, page 22:
      The shields used by our Norman ancestors were the triangular or heater shield, the target or buckler, the roundel or rondache, and the pavais, pavache, or tallevas.
  2. Anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
    • 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III, Act 4, Scene 3, line 56:
      Go muster men. My counsel is my shield; We must be brief when traitors brave the field.
  3. Figuratively, one who protects or defends.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, edition King James Version, Genesis 15:1:
      Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
  4. (botany) In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
  5. (heraldry) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms.
  6. (geology) A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
  7. (mining) A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.
  8. A spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:
      Bespotted as with shields of red and black.
  9. (obsolete) A coin, the old French crown, or écu, having on one side the figure of a shield.
  10. (science fiction) A field of energy which protects or defends.
  11. (colloquial, law enforcement) A police badge.
    • 2005, Michael Connelly, The closers: a novel:
      The chief put something in his hand and Bosch looked down to see the gold detective's shield.
  12. (transport) A sign or symbol, usually containing numbers and sometimes letters, identifying a highway route.
Hyponyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
armor
anything which protects or defends
figuratively, one who protects or defends
heraldry
mining
a spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
obsolete: a coin, the old French crown, or écu
sci fi: an field of energy which protects or defends
colloquial: a police badge
transportation: a sign or symbol identifying a highway route.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English scieldan.

Verb[edit]

shield (third-person singular simple present shields, present participle shielding, simple past and past participle shielded)

  1. To protect, to defend.
    • 2004, Chris Wallace, “Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage”:
      Shots rang out and a 15-year-old boy, shielding a woman from the line of fire, was killed.
  2. (electricity) to protect from the influence of
Translations[edit]
to protect, to defend
electricity: to protect from the influence of

Anagrams[edit]

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