| 释义 |
▪ I. shed, n.1|ʃɛd|
Forms: 1 (ᵹe)scéad, 1–2 scád, 3 schad, Orm. shæd, 4–6 schede, shede, 4–7 sched, 5 sced, schade, 5, 8, 9 dial. sheed, 6 schedde, sheyde, 6–7 shead(e, shedde, Sc. schad, 7, 9 dial. shade, 4– shed.
[OE. (ᵹe)scēad, altered form of (ᵹe)sceád neut.:—OTeut. type *(ga)skaiđo-m, f. root *skaiđ- to divide: see shed v., where the phonology is explained. Cf. OHG. sceit, (MHG. scheit) division. In sense 2 the word may represent the cognate OE. sc(e)áda (see shode) in the altered form scēada.]
†1.
a. Distinction, discrimination, separation (of one thing from another). Obs.
In OE. also in phr. scád (á)ᵹyldan, to give account.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xii. 51 Separationem, þæt ᵹescead. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xii. 36 ælc idel word þe menn specað hi aᵹyldaþ ᵹescead [c 1160 scad] be þam on domes dæᵹe. c1200Ormin 6229 Forr ȝunnc birrþ witenn swiþe wel,..Þatt niss bitwenen ȝunnc & hemm Nan shæd i manness kinde. c1330Spec. Gy de Warw. 217 Off god and yuel shed to make. Ibid. 721 And shed to make in eueri dede Bitwene soþnesse and falshede. 1575Gascoigne Glasse of Govt. iii. vi. Wks. 1910 II. 59 The Shed is great, and greater then the show, Which seemes to be, betweene the good and bad. 1674Ray N.C. Words 40 No Shed: No difference between things. 1703Thoresby in Ray Philos. Lett. (1718) 336 ‘No Sheds’, no difference.
†b. The faculty of discerning or distinguishing.
c1000ælfric Hom. I. 176/24 Ȝe habbað ᵹescead æᵹðer ᵹe godes ᵹe yfeles. c1200Ormin 5534 Þe fifte ȝife iss shæd & skill I weorelldlike þingess. a1225Leg. Kath. 238 Þat schafte of mon þat he schop & ȝef schad ba of god & of uuel. a1240Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 255 Warschipe þe haueð wit ant schad bituhhe god and uuel.
2. a. The parting made in the hair by combing along the top of the head; also, the part of the head thus indicated, the top of the crown. Obs. exc. dial. Cf. shode.
13..Cursor M. 18837 (Gött.) In heued he had a sched [Cott. a clift] biforn. c1325Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Rel. Ant. II. 78/1 The shed, la greve. a1380Virg. Antioch 291 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 30 Set myn hat vppon þyn hed, To huide þin her and eke þi sched. c1400Destr. Troy 3023 The shede þurghe the shyre here shone as þe lilly. 14..Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 674/5 Hoc discrimen, the schade of the hede. 1513Douglas æneis ii. xi. 7 For lo! the top of litle Ascanius heid,..fro the sched of his croun, Schane all of lycht wnto the grond adoun. 1519W. Horman Vulg. 25 The shede of the heare goeth vp to the toppe, deuydynge the molde. 1565Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Diuiduus, Coma diuidua, heare diuided at the sheade. 1584Hudson Du Bartas' Judith iv. (1608) 65 Her wav'ring haire disparpling flew apart In seemely shed. 1688Holme Armoury ii. 464/2 Women wear Hair..in shades, when it lieth plain and streight on each side the forehead. 1880Antrim & Down Gloss., Shade, the parting or division of the hair on one's head.
†b. Proverb. shame is past the shed of (his) hair (or head), i.e. (he) has lost all sense of shame.
1382Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 252 We ben so ful of synne and slouthe, The schame is passed the sched of hede. 1560Rolland Seven Sages 37 Schame is past the sched of thair hair, as weill we knaw. 1691Contin. Hist. Relat. Gen. Assembly Scot. 15 But as the Scots Proverb is, Shame is passed the shed of their hair.
c. A parting made in the wool of sheep in order to grease or anoint the skin.
1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §44 Make wyde sheydes in the woll of the shepe, and anoynt them with it. 1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 69 In greasinge they beginne usually on the belly, and soe goe rownde aboute by sheddes. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 321 Leaving about an inch betwixt every shed of the wool. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1118 Tar-salve..may be..spread along the shed, and worked amongst the wool.
†3. A piece cut or broken off, a slice, fragment. (Cf. shide.) Also a clot (of blood). Obs. (Chiefly Sc. and north.)
c1400Anturs of Arth. xxxix. (Douce MS.), Shaftes in shide wode þei shindre in shedes [rimes stedes, ledes, bledis]. 1513Douglas æneis v. viii. 97 And scheddis of bluid furth spittand throw his lippis [crassumque cruorem ore eiectantem]. 1739A. Nicol Nature without Art 74 Asunder I shall hack it [a cheese] In Sheeds this day. 1821Ure Dict. Chem. s.v. Acid (Muriatic), Tinmen's sheds, or old iron, may be employed instead of chalk.
4. Sc. ‘A portion of land, as distinguished from that which is adjacent’ (Jam.); a division of land larger than the ‘rig’. ? Obs. (Cf. sheth.)
1473Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 171 Tha sal pairt the toun in twa, gif it ma be, and gif it ma nocht, it salbe partyt in scheddis. 1588Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 790/1 Acram terre arabilis continentem 4 lie lang-riggis contigue in uno lie sched. 1670Lamont Diary 30 May (Maitland Club) 220 [A great storm of thunder and lightning] att night; it did scorch and spoile some sheads of corne at Lawderdaill.
5. A ridge of high ground dividing two valleys or tracts of lower country; a ‘divide’. Cf. watershed. (The meaning in quot. 1530 is obscure.)
1530Palsgr. 266/2 Schedde of an hyll, tertre. 1876A. J. Evans Through Bosnia i. 25 The Styrian mountains seem to form a shed between the areas of German and Italian influences. 1891Century Dict., Shed. 3. The slope of land or of a hill: as, which way is the shed?
Comb.1850Ogilvie, Shed-line, the summit line of elevated ground; [1882 adds] the line of the watershed.
6. Weaving. The opening made between the threads of the warp by the motion of the heddles for the shuttle to pass through.
1792A. Adam Rom. Antiq. (1801) 523 Which, being alternately raised and depressed by the motion of the feet on the Treadles, raises or depresses the warp, and makes the shed for transmitting the shuttle with the weft. 1851Art Jrnl. Illustr. Catal. p. vii**/2 The healds..are situated at the left end, for the purpose of effecting the cross shed. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 464/1 Treadle number two is next depressed and thereby a new shed is formed.
b. Comb., as shed-rod, -stick, a device by which the warp is opened.
1968W. Bray Everyday Life of Aztecs vii. 144 This passage is easy to achieve by means of a roller or shed-rod inserted across the warp under every alternate thread.
1910L. Hooper Hand-Loom Weaving i. vii. 84 After the weft has been drawn straight, the shed-stick being again in a flat position, its edge may be brought down smartly upon the whole weft in order to beat it together. 1960G. Lewis Handbk. Crafts 98 Shed sticks, which hold the cross..in place.
▪ II. shed, n.2|ʃɛd|
Forms: 5–6 shadde, 6–7 shad, 7 shedde, 8 sheed, 7–9 dial. shade, 6– shed.
[app. var. shade n., where cf. the forms OE. sced, ME. (Ayenb.) ssed(e, 15th c. shad(de. The development of the senses explained below was prob. more or less due to association with shud (now dial., synonymous with this word).]
1. a. A slight structure built for shelter or storage, or for use as a workshop, either attached as a lean-to to a permanent building or separate; often with open front or sides. The special purpose is indicated by a defining word prefixed, as cow-, cart-, goat-, tool-shed.
1481Caxton Reynard v. (Arb.) 10 A yerde..In whiche was a shadde [Du. een vaste schuere] where in were six grete dogges. 1502Arnolde Chron. (1811) 72 All thoo in the said cite..that ocupye houses not inhabited as shoppis celars shaddys. 1557Tusser 100 Points Husb. §88 (1878) 232 For Tumbrels and cartes, haue a shed redy dight. 1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe 51 A Fisherman of Yarmouth..hung the residue [of his draught of herrings]..in the sooty roofe of his shad a drying. 1615Chapman Odyss. ix. 314 Sheds [Gr. σηκοί] stuft with Lambs and Goates, distinctly kept. 1671Milton P.R. ii. 72 In such a season born when scarce a Shed Could be obtain'd to shelter him or me From the bleak air. 1701in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 517 Three small sheds built against the towne wall. 1723Lond. Gaz. No. 6146/8 The Shops and Sheds in and about Lincoln's-Inn. 1731N. Riding Rec. VIII. 193 The building of a sheed in the Castle of York for the High Sheriffe's coach. 1798Hull Advertiser 30 June 1/1 On the north side stands a work-house and a shade. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 223 The milch cows are generally fed in the house or in a shade. 1816Scott Old Mort. xxxiii, They withdrew to the stable, or shed, in order to accommodate their horses. 1870Inquiry, Yorksh. Deaf & Dumb 68 [Employed] in the power-loom shades..as a thrower. 1875Encycl. Brit. I. 7/1 Behind this is a shed..where the cattle are kept before being slaughtered.
b. A similar structure, but large and strongly built; often consisting of a roof supported on columns. Also Austral. and N.Z., short for woolshed (q.v.).
1855Ogilvie Suppl. s.v., Some sheds, as those connected with railway-termini, wharfs, &c., are most substantial structures. 1857F. Cooper Wild Adventures in Austral. 105 He was bound for the shearing through New England. By this time, most likely, he has set in at some of the sheds on the Namoi. 1887J. C. Harris Free Joe, etc. (1888) 254 The passenger-depôt..—it is known as the ‘Car-shed’ in Atlantese. c1888Kipling Among Railway Folk i. Wks. 1900 XVII. 165 On the fourth [side] it is bounded by what are locally known as the ‘sheds’; in other words, the station, offices, and workshops of the Company. 1893H. Lawson Coll. Prose (1972) II. 24 Men tramping in search of a ‘shed’ are not called ‘sundowners’ or ‘swaggies’; they are ‘trav'lers’. 1911C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling v. 50 They were rich men—shearers—probably making from one big shed to another. 1913Times 3 May 8/2 Last night a disastrous fire broke out at the Trafalgar shed of the Midland Railway Company at Bradford. 1940F. Sargeson Man & his Wife (1944) 47 We got a job picking up fleeces in a big shed. 1955G. Bowen Wool Away! (1956) 2 Good weather, good shed, good sheep, good boss, and a good gang create an atmosphere of work and action.
c. = hangar b. ? Obs.
1909Daily Chron. 3 Nov. 1/6 They have been watching the great shed gradually nearing completion.., and have been eagerly awaiting the advent of the airship. 1916H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 27 The Aeroplane is wheeled out of its shed on to the greensward of the Military Aerodrome.
2. a. poet. A hut, cottage, poor dwelling.
1600Fairfax Tasso ii. lviii, The first Aletes, borne in lowly shed, Of parents base. 1634Milton Comus 323 Courtesie, Which oft is sooner found in lowly sheds With smoaky rafters, then in tapstry Halls. 1700Dryden Baucis & Philemon 30 At last an hospitable House they found, A homely Shed. 1750Gray Elegy 18 The swallow twitt'ring from the straw-built shed. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 180 He..Sees no contiguous palace rear its head To shame the meanness of his humble shed. 1783Crabbe Village i. 60 Can poets soothe you, when you pine for bread, By winding myrtles round your ruin'd shed?
b. gen. A structure that affords shelter or covering; the hiding-place, lair or nest of an animal.
1616R. Cocks Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 122 We had greate canes of the China Capt. to make an arbor or shed for a vyne. c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 40, I here doe lye, Without a shed scorch'd with a swelt'ring skye. 1695Congreve Love for L. Epil., For still in every Storm, they all run hither, As to a Shed that shields 'em from the Weather. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 121 The fields and meadow grass Will gladly hide their [the peewits'] careless shed. Ibid. 196 The scouting rabbit seeks her shed.
3. A covering; cf. shade n. 11.
†a. ? A lid.
1612in Antiquary (1906) XLII. 29/1 Item in the lofte nexte the gatehouse a Troughe, a Tubbe with a Shed, a boultinge hutche [etc.].
b. In a telegraph-line insulator, a covering in the form of an inverted cup, a ‘petticoat’.
1859Abridgm. Specif. Patents, Electr. & Magn. 236 No sheds or bell coverings are applied, but the wire is varnished [etc.]. 1910N. Hawkins' Electr. Dict., Shed of Insulator, the petticoat of a line wire insulator.
4. [By analogy with barn n. 1 d.] In nuclear physics, a proposed unit of area of nuclear cross-section equal to 10-24 barn (10-48 cm.2).
The unit is impracticably small and appears to have had minimal use.
1956W. C. Michels et al. Internat. Dict. Physics & Electronics 820/2 Shed, a unit of nuclear cross section equal to 10-24 barn or 10-48 square centimetre. 1965Guinness Bk. Records (ed. 12) 80 The smallest unit of area is a ‘shed’, used in sub-atomic physics. 1968F. Kertesz Lang. Nuclear Sci. (Oak Ridge Nat. Lab. TM 2367) 20 During the study of the neutrino, a much smaller surface was used in theoretical studies and the area 10-44 cm2 [sic] was quite logically named the shed; however, this latter name did not receive general acceptance. 1979New Scientist 12 July 168/2 The Shed..seems to me to be less witty [than the barn].
5. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 1 b) shed-boss, shed-hand; shed-smithy; shed-fashion, shed-wise advs.; shed-like, shed-shaped, adjs.; in sense ‘kept, employed, done in a shed’, as shed-cow, shed-feeding, shed-man; shed master, one in charge of a locomotive shed (see quot. 1921); shed roof, a roof with only one slope (as in a lean-to shed); hence shed-roofed adj; shed-room U.S., a shed attached to a house and serving as a room.
1892W. E. Swanton Notes on N.Z. ii. 97 Then there is the ‘*shed boss’, who looks after everything, sees the sheep are shorn properly, takes the tally, looks after pressing etc. 1940E. C. Studholme Te Waimate 110 In the early days the manager acted as shed-boss.
1898Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. June 415 When an outbreak occurs among a herd of *shed-cows.
1807P. Gass Jrnl. 61 The roofs were made *shed-fashion, rising from the inner side.
1856Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 841/1 In some trials of *shed-feeding.
1905W. Baucke Where White Man Treads 229 The *shed-hands and shearers were mostly Maoris. 1961N.Z. Listener 26 May 8/1 The two shedhands played their unending game of poker.
1835R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages ix. 140 A long, low, *shed-like porch. 1899Rider Haggard Farmer's Yr. 352 The kirk..is a very plain building, white-washed and shed-like in appearance.
1921Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §700 *Shed master, in charge of smaller locomotive shed than that supervised by shed superintendent. 1960Times 2 Sept. 6/6 He should have sent a message to the shed⁓master. 1978J. Blackburn Dead Man's Handle 8 How the shed-master had cursed when he heard the old steamer come clanking home with a fractured bearing.
1857Househ. Words 27 June 605/1 At large stations they [the porters] form two distinct bodies, called technically yardmen and *shedmen.
1736in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1908) III. 45 The *Shead Ruff of Capt Cressap's house. 1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 61 It is probably the best and cheapest method to make them with shed-roofs. 1817in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1866) VIII. 235 These [carriages] are..built like our mud-scows, with a shed roof over your head, looking like a floating ropewalk. 1907M. C. F. Morris Nunburnholme 76 The chancel itself had a shed-roof of mean description. 1976‘O. Bleeck’ No Questions Asked xii. 130 Above the wall I caught a glimpse of a white-graveled, sloping shed roof.
1836Parker Gloss. Archit. (1850) I. 432 The body of a church is span-roofed and its aisles *shed-roofed.
1843Knickerbocker XXI. 304, I had in the morning secured a bed in a *shed⁓room. 1932H. Crane Let. ? Jan. (1965) 395 We've relegated him to the shed-room in back of the kitchen.
1857Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) 246 A *shed-shaped tent will catch and reflect the heat like a Yankee-baker.
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. iv. vi, There, in their two-hundred and fifty *shed smithies,..let them forge gun-barrels.
1650in Sussex Archæol. Collect. XXIV. 280 The said cottage and stable is built *Shedwise against the Castle wall of Tymber and Mudd walles.
▪ III. shed, n.3 rare.|ʃɛd|
[f. shed v.1]
Something that is or has been shed: e.g. a silkworm's cocoon; a light fall of snow; the cast shell of a crab.
1648Herrick Hesper., Fairie Temple 137 And then he dons the Silk-worms shed (Like a Turks Turbant on his head). 1876Blackmore Cripps vii, A little powdery shed of flakes had come at noon that very day. 1911Webster, Shed..5. That which is or has been shed, as the molted shell of a crab or other crustacean. Colloq.
▪ IV. shed, n.4 local.|ʃɛd|
[Cf. scad5 and shad salmon ‘small salmon of from five pounds' to eight pounds' weight’ (Shropshire Word-bk. 1879).]
A young salmon from one to two years old.
1861Act 24 & 25 Vict. c. 109 §4 All migratory fish of the genus salmon, whether known by the names..gravelling, shed, scad,..or by any other local name. 1882[see skegger].
▪ V. † shed, n.5 Obs.
Also shede, sheade.
Variants of schede, a written paper.
1510Stanbridge Vocabula (W. de W.) C ij b, Scheda, a shede. 1590Calepini Dict. (1594) II. 531 Scheda..Angl. A sheet or shed of paper. a1593H. Barrow Brief Discov. To Rdr. p. iij, Where such was the rage of the enimie, as he [the author] might not keepe one sheade by him, whiles he was writinge of an other.
▪ VI. shed, sched
Sc. forms of shade n.
c1591Rob Stene's Dream (Maitland Club) 3 A sched, but substance, and no moir. c1730Ramsay Vision xxviii, And all as saft and gay appeird As ane Elysion shed.
▪ VII. shed, v.1|ʃɛd|
Pa. tense and pple. shed. Forms: 1 sc(e)ádan, scédan, 2–5 shode(n, -scheode(n, 3 scheade(n; 2–3 Ormin shædenn, 2–6 shede(n, 3 ssede, 3–5 schede(n, 4–7, 8–9 dial. sheed(e, sched, 5 scheed, 5–6 schedde, 6 Sc. schad, scheid, 6–7 shedd(e, 6–8, 9 dial. shead, 8 dial. shade, 4– shed; 3 sing. pres. ind. (occas. contracted forms) 1 -scǽt, -scát, -sceát, 2 schet, 2–3 shat. pa. tense 1 -scéd, -scēad, 3 sad, 3–6 sched; 1 sc(e)ádde (? scēadde), 2–3 scedde, 2–5 schedde, shadde, 3 scede, chadde, 3–4 ssedde, 3–5 shed(d)e, schadde, 4 scade, 4–5 schad, shad, 5–6 schede, shadd, 6 Sc. s(c)hedd, schaid, 6–7 shead, 7 (9 dial.) shodd, shod, 4– shed; 1 -sceádade, 4 schedide, 4–5 scheded, 5 scheddet, 5–6 scheddit, 9 dial. shedded, sheaded. pa. pple. 1 sceáden (? scēaden), 2 -sceden, 3 scheden, scede, 4–5 schede, shede; 3 sced(d, i-sced, sad(d, 3 (Ormin), 5 shadd, 4–5 shad (4 yshad), 4 i-schod, y-ssed, 4–5 schad, yshed, yschad, 5 xad; 4–6 sched (3–5 schedd, isched, 4 isedd, yssed, 4–5 shadde, 5–6 shedde, 6 Sc. scheid, 4, 6 Sc. schedde (4 yschedde), 9 dial. shod, shud, 4– shed; 1 ᵹesceádad, 5–6 shedded, 6 sheeded.
[A Com. Teut. verb (wanting in Scandinavian), originally str. (redupl.): OE. sc(e)ádan, scēadan, pa. tense sc(e)ád, scēad, pa. pple. sc(e)áden (? scēaden), corresponds, either directly or with consonant-ablaut, to OFris. skêda, skêtha wk. (mod.Fris. skiede, schêde, NFris. skêr, skial, skias), OS. skêdan, skêthan, pa. pple. giskêthan, MLG. schêden, scheiden, MDu. schêden, scheiden, schêen, scheien (mod.Du. scheiden, pa. tense scheidde, pa. pple. geschieden), OHG. sceidan, pa. tense sciad, scied, pa. pple. gisceidan (MHG. scheiden, pa. tense schiet, pa. pple. gescheiden; mod.G. scheiden, pa. tense schied, pa. pple. geschieden), Goth. skaidan, pa. pple. skaidan-s; the vb. in all these langs. has the sense to separate, divide; the forms represent two distinct types of the Teut. root, *skaiþ- (: *skī̆þ-) and *skaiđ- (: *skī̆đ-); for cognates in Teut. see sheath n., shide n. The pre-Teut. *skeit-: *skoit-: *skī̆t-, from which both the Teut. types descend (with difference due to consonant-ablaut), is not directly represented outside Teut., but is prob. related to the widespread Indogermanic root *sk(h)eid-: *sk(h)oid-: *sk(h)id-, occurring, e.g., in Skr. čhid- to split, Lith. skëdżù I make thin, separate, divide, skëda chip of wood, Gr. σχίζειν to split, σχίζα billet of wood, L. scindĕre to cut, cleave.
The original OE. sc(e)ádan would normally yield (midland and southern) ME. and mod.E. shode, which is occas. found in writings from the 12th to the 15th c. It would appear that by the side of the original form OE. had (presumably in certain districts, but evidence is lacking for localization) an altered form scēadan, with change of rising into falling diphthong; from this the modern shed |ʃɛd| descends by a development parallel to that of bread, dead, from OE. bréad, déad.
The OE. verb retained its strong conjugation in WS., but in Northumbrian occurs only as weak (usually with forms -scēadade, -scēadad on the analogy of the ō stems; rarely contracted scēadde). In early ME. there were forms like sched pa. tense, scheden pa. pple., representing the original strong conjugation; forms like schedid, representing the wk. forms of OE.; and forms like schĕdde, schĕdd, prob. not repr. ONorthumb. scēadde, but new formations due to the analogy of vbs. like rede (read), lede (lead), etc. The mod. pa. tense and pple. shed are prob. to be regarded as representing the last type of conjugation, which was by far the most frequent in ME.]
1. a. trans. To separate, divide. Now only dial., chiefly in farming uses: To separate (lambs) from the ewes, or (calves) from the cows; to separate (cattle, sheep) from the herd or flock. † to shed the shanks (Sc.): to set the legs apart.
c1000Soul's Addr. 148 (Gr.) Þonne sceadene beoþ þa synfullan & þa soðfæstan on þam mæran dæᵹe. c1200Ormin 16865, & forrþi wass þatt name hemm [sc. the Pharisees] sett, Forr þatt teȝȝ wærenn shadde, Swa summ hemm þuhhte, fra þe follc Þurrh haliȝ lif & lare. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 67 Ure louerd ihesu crist..shodeð þe gode fro þe iuele. Et statuet oues a dextris..and shodeð þe rihtwise an his rihthalue. a1225Ancr. R. 270 Þe ȝeteward..ouh forto winden hweate, & scheaden þe eilen & tet chef urom þe clene cornes. c1250Gen. & Ex. 266 Quan al man-kinde..Sal ben fro dede to liue broȝt, And seli sad fro ðe forwroȝt. c1315Shoreham iii. 63 Þat doþ þat manye yschoded [altered to y-schodred] ben Fram heuene-ryche festes. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 174 He salle sched vs o sonder, fro Acres salle we go. Ibid. 305 Þer scheltron sone was shad [Langt. sevré] with Inglis þat were gode. 1390Gower Conf. III. 136 Logique hath eke in his degre Betwen the trouthe and the falshode The pleine wordes forto schode, So that nothing schal go biside. a1400Relig. Pieces (E.E.T.S.) 61 The sonne to schede þe day fra þe nyght. c1470Henry Wallace v. 77 Wallace mycht nocht a graith straik on him gett: Ȝhett schede he thaim, a full royd slope was maid. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) I. 15 Schulderis wer schorne and sched the bodie fra. 1550Lyndesay Sqr. Meldrum 994 Iudge ȝe gif he hir schankis shed. c1553in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) III. App. xi. 28 God..myndeth now to..shede out the Gootes from the Shepe. c1560A. Scott Poems, Ballad Want. Wemen 30 For conȝie ȝe may chawcht hir To sched hir schankis in twane. 1584B. R. tr. Herodotus i. 60 The mighty river Gyndes being in this sort shed and derived into .360. brookes. 1600Holland Livy vi. xxv. 234 In the view and account taken of the captives there were some of them known to be Tusculanes, who were shed apart from the rest. 1677W. Nicolson in Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit. (1870) 318 [Cumberl. and Westm.] Shed, to part asunder. 1791J. Learmont Poems 276 I've lambs to shed, and sheep a clipping too. 1824Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. 425 Shed, to separate; to separate the calves from the cows, we shed them. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 87 The sheep selected for market are the best conditioned at the time, and to ascertain this it is necessary to handle the whole lot and shed the fattest from the rest. 1921Kelso Chron. 26 Aug. 2 A better never lifted paw, To shed or wear off a stell. 1942R. B. Kelley Animal Breeding xv. 140 The shepherd has to shed or separate these [marked sheep] from the flock of 20. 1949Scots Mag. Sept. 463 Wicket-gates for ‘shedding’ the sheep into various pens. 1951N. M. Gunn Well at World's End xvii. 131 Some evenings ago, I fell in with a shepherd. I had shed one of his ewes and ultimately run her into a corner. 1977Field 13 Jan. 55/2 The shepherd guided the dog to cut out, or ‘shed’ the marked sheep. 1981I. A. Gordon in N.Z. Listener 27 June 86 When you shed sheep they are out in the open.
absol.1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 618 Those shepherds who dog, force, and shed much about a march, I consider them as bad herds for their masters as for the neighbouring farmer.
†b. To set apart, draft off from a community. Obs.
1584B. R. tr. Herodotus i. 54 They ioyned felowship with other their countreymen which before tyme were shed from the city to inhabite that place.
†c. refl. To separate oneself, part from; to come apart. Also (of troops) to scatter asunder.
c1200Ormin 3200 Forrþrihht anan he..shadde himm all þweorrt ut fra menn. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 7764 He schet aboute him fer & ner..The Gregeis offte In-sunder hem scheded. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 90 The new wark zeid frome the auld and sched the self.
†d. intr. for refl. To separate, divide, come apart; to part company; to depart; to part with a possession. Obs.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 116 Þonne dæᵹ & niht scade, drince þonne þone drenc. 1338R. Brunne Chron. (Rolls) 991 Þe Gregeys schadden sone asonder. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 411 Þow wost wel when þy perle con schede, I was ful ȝong & tender of age. 1572L. Mascall Plant. & Graff. 37 Ye shall binde it so, till the fruites or cliftes be couered..with your sayde hempe, except the oylet and his tayle, the which ye must not couer, for that tayle will shed apart, if the shielde doe take. 1576Gascoigne Grief of Joy iv. iii. Wks. 1910 II. 548 Thou showldest foresee, that fagott sticks do hold, Together fast, and seldome list to shedd. 1585Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 45 Such was the loue, and reuerence they her bure, Ilk day whill euen, ay whill they shedd at night. 1603Philotus lxxxix, Be Christ I sall thy nurture nip, Richt scharply or wee sched. 1659W. Guthrie Chr. Gt. Interest ii. (1724) 214 If thou hast a Desire after Jesus Christ,..and cannot think of parting with his blessed Company for ever, or, if thou must shed with him, yet dost wish well to him [etc.].
2. trans.
a. To part, or divide (the hair; also the hair or wool of an animal). Also refl. of the person. Now Sc. and dial.
a1300Cursor M. 18848 Metli har was on his chin, And als his hefd was scheud [Gött. sched] in tuin. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 369 Þey used to schere of þe heere of hir heed from þe molde to þe nolle, but to fore þey hadde lokkes i-schod [β. ysched; L. discriminatam] hongynge doun to þe mouth. 1388Wyclif Judith x. 3 Sche schedide [1382 platte] the heer of hir heed. 1390Gower Conf. I. 101 Bot with no craft of combes brode Thei myhte hire hore lockes schode. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. lxxiv. (1869) 103, I loue better..to keembe myn hed, to shode me [Fr. grauer mon chef]. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §42 Than take hym, and shede the woll with thy fyngers, there as the scab is, and with thy fynger laye a lyttell terre thervpon. 1530Palsgr. 717/1 Shede your heare that hangeth so yvell favouredly aboute your eares. 1548Patten Exped. Scot. C viij b, A fellowe lyke a man..red hedded, curld rounde about & shedded afore. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 411 Make a salue thereof, and with your finger annoint all the sore places, sheading the haire as you go. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry iv. vii. (1632) 296 The Combe is..of most vse with women for shedding and trimming their haire and head-tires. 1621G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vi. (1626) 111 Her haire She forthwith sheds. 1822A. Cunningham Tradit. Tales, Mother's Dream (1887) 123 He shed back his long and moistened locks from a burning and bewildered brow. 1832Motherwell Poems 41 Let me shed by your hair. 1844A. Rodger in Songs for Nursery 44 Let me shed your shining hair. 1888Doughty Trav. Arabia Deserta I. 595 He was of goodly great stature, with..hair shed..and hanging down from the midst in tresses.
intr. for refl.13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1690 Faxe fyltered..Þat schad fro his schulderes to his schyre wykes.
b. Weaving. To divide (the warp-threads), to make a ‘shed’ in (a web). Cf. shed n.1 6.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1285 The weaver..thus sheds the warp, by lifting and depressing each alternate thread. 1863J. Watson Weaving 196 It has been explained how a common Web is shedded, and a few words will show the difference for the shedding in this loom.
†3.
a. To cleave, divide (something) with a knife, weapon, etc. Obs.
13..K. Alis. 2772 Ac, ar the gate weore y-loke, Mony ponne was to-broke;..And mony brayn was y-schad. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 425 Þe scharp of þe schalk..scade hit in twynne. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 604 Ane schene scheild and ane schaft, that scharply was sched.
†b. transf. Of birds, fishes: To ‘cleave’ (the air, the water) in flight or swimming. Obs.
c1480Henryson Mor. Fab., Preiching of Swallow vii, The foullis..Scheddand the air with pennis greit and small. 1599A. Hume Hymn ii. 184 The little friand fish in flude, and dentie volatil, Quhilks shedds the waters, & the winds, he traps them at his wil.
†4.
a. To scatter, sprinkle; in later use only, to sow (seed). Obs.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 38 Wiþ wyrmum on eaᵹum ᵹenim beolonan sæd scead on gleda. c1374Chaucer Boeth. i. met. i. (1868) 4 Heeres hore ben schad [orig. funduntur] ouertymelyche vpon myne heued. 1382Wyclif Gen. xxxviii. 9 He..shede the seed into the erthe. 1608Willet Hexapla Exod. 535 The seede which was shed the former yeere. 1633P. Fletcher Pisc. Eclogues v. ii, That primrose there Which 'mongst those violets sheds his golden hair, Seems the sunnes little sonne, fixt in his azure spheare. c1770Hunter in Winter Syst. Husb. (1797) 173 The drill plow..which by..shedding the seed and covering it, leave[s] the land stocked with plants.
fig.141426 Pol. Poems (1904) 58 Þan god wil..Drede and stryf among hem shede.
†b. To disperse, scatter; to rout, put to flight.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 672 Ðat folc is wide on londe sad. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 493 Þere sche bode here knyȝtes þat were al i-sched. c1480Henryson Test. Cress. (Charteris) 18 The Northin wind had purifyit the Air, And sched the mistie cloudis fra the sky. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xii. lxv, His tail, whose folds were wont the starres to shed, Now stretcht at length, close to his belly clings.
c. dial. To rake out (a fire).
1873Murdoch Doric Lyre 26 (E.D.D.), I had shed my fire An' hame was ettlin' to retire.
d. To throw off, repel (rain, sunlight, etc.). Now chiefly dial.
c1400Anturs of Arth. ii. (Douce MS.), Schurde in a short cloke, þat þe rayne shedes. 1616Surflet & Markham Country Farm ii. lxii. 318 Neither must they be made as some are flat at the top, and shallow, but ascending pyramid wise, smaller and smaller till it come to the top, for thereby it..sheddeth off the raine much better. 1778[W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric. 30 Aug. 1774, The elevation would shed off the rain, and prevent its lodging in the ears. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxviii, But it sheds the sun weel aff. 1885Harper's Mag. Apr. 796/2 As a shaggy dog sheds water from his coat. 1886C. Scott Sheep-Farming 99 The straw has finally to be raked down on the outside, so as to shed rain well.
†e. refl. and intr. To be dispersed, scatter. Obs.
1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 61 The bataill of Pompee began to sched and till irk, and toke the flicht. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) III. 429 Lyke ony scheip tha schudrit all and sched, Quhair euir tha come befoir his face tha fled. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Oct. 35 Sike prayse is smoke, that sheddeth in the skye. 1589Pasquil's Ret. A iiij, The great Empire of..Alexander, like a flame of fire in a heape of flaxe, when it was at the highest, did shed it selfe suddainlie in the ayre. 1650Fuller Pisgah ii. v. xviii. 173 That the Pillar of Smoak which ascended from the sacrifice, curled only upwards in direct wreaths to heaven, without any scattering, or shedding it self abroad.
5. a. To spill (liquids), let fall (crumbs, etc.) Obs. exc. dial.
a1225Ancr. R. 344 Of alle kudde & kuðe sunnen, ase of prude..of sum uals word..of schorn leihtre, of scheden crumen oðer ale, oðer leten þinges muwlen oðer rusten. c1380Sir Ferumb. 2296 Schad was al þe wyn. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 47 The vessell can not holde y⊇ wyne, but anone it breketh, & so shedeth the wyne. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 455 By carrying water in a siue, not shedding one drop from Tiber to the Temple of Vesta. 16..Boy & Mantle 181 in Percy Fol. MS. II. 311 He said, ‘there was noe Cuckolde shall drinke of my horne, But he shold itt sheede, either behind or beforne.’ 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 315 In pulling forth my Handkerchiefe, I had shed all my money. 1785J. Trusler Mod. Times II. 83 A bag of tea..was burst, and a good deal of the tea shed. 1839Sterling Alfred the Harper xviii. Poems 136 Grim sat the chiefs;..His iron mace was grasped by one, By one his wine was shed. 1847Ockley's Hist. Saracens (ed. 4) 216 note, The crafty Harmozanda shed the vase to the ground. 1866Waugh Ben an th' Bantam iv. 73 His jackass..broke her pitcher, an' sheeded th' milk. Ibid. 74 Are yo noan beawn to pay for th' milk 'at wur shed, then?
absol.c1430Stans Puer 60 in Babees Bk., Fille not þi spoon lest in þe cariage It scheede bi side.
†b. intr. Of a liquid: To spill over. Obs.
1601Dolman La Primaud. Fr. Acad. iii. (1618) 769 If one put neuer so little water into a vessell already brimmefull, the vppermost part thereof will shedde ouer.
6. trans. To pour, pour out. (The ordinary rendering of L. fundere, effundere, etc.)
†a. Of a personal agent: To pour (water, etc.). Also with out. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 320 ‘Effunde sicut aquam cor tuum’. ‘Sched ut’, he seið, Ieremie, ‘ase water þine heorte’. 1382Wyclif Exod. xxiv. 6 And so Moyses took the half parti of the blood, and putte it into chalices: and that other party he shedde [Vulg. fudit] vpon the auteer. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. xxxvi. (1495) 879 Cerusa is gendryd and comyth of vapour of stronge vynegre effusyd and shedde on thynne plates of leed. 1483Caxton Golden Leg. 247/2 He shadde water on his hede and baptysed hym in the name of Jhesu Crist. 1530Palsgr. 701/2, I shedde out lycoure out of a vessel. 1595Locrine iii. Prol. 11 A subtill Adder..Priuily shead his poison through his bones. 1614Gorges Lucan i. 37 Then doth he take a faire large bull..And twixt his hornes pure wine he sheads. 1621G. Sandys Ovid's Met. ii. (1626) 42 Banefull poyson; which she sheads Into her bones, and through her liuer spreads.
b. Of a vessel, receptacle, a fountain, etc.: To pour forth (its contents).
1430–40Lydg. Bochas viii. xii[i]. (1494) D j, Which lyke a conducte vpon euery syde Shad out water as any cristall clere. 1668Culpeper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xvii. 47 They are..Veins and Arteries..which end at the Heads of the Caruncles, into which they shed their wheyish humor. 1870Bryant Iliad xvi. 4 As when a fountain sheds Dark waters streaming down a precipice.
†c. refl. Of a river, etc.: To discharge itself. Also, to overflow over its banks. Obs.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. iii. 34 Gently sheadyng hymself ouer his bancques, he [Nilus] leaueth in the countrie a merueilous fertilitie. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 696 Coc making no long course sheadeth himselfe into Wherf. c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §28 (1810) 34 The riveret Sid shedding itself into the sea.
†d. fig. To ‘pour out’ (one's heart, feelings, prayers, etc.). Obs.
c1420Prymer (1895) 67 [Ps. xlii. 4], I biþouȝte of þese þingis, & y schedde out in me my soule. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 137 Ronne to our lorde, & shede forth your herte before hym. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 111 And throuch thair prayers, quhilkes ydenly wt al diligence thay sched for thair cuntrey, appeir to mitigat the ire of God.
e. To emit, give forth, pour out (spawn, eggs, † seminal fluid, etc.).
c1386Chaucer Pars. T. 503 Vnkyndely synne by which man or womman shedeth hire nature in manere or place ther as [etc.]. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xxvi. (1495) 458 Ryuer fysshe and fresshe of marreys sheden more theyr pesen and ofter than other fysshe. a1450Myrc 1046 Take also wel in mynde. Ȝef þou haue sched þyn owne kynde, Slepynge or wakynge nyȝt or day. 1538Bale Thre Lawes ii. B vj b, I was with Onan not vnacquaynted, Whan he on the grounde hys increase shed. 1584B. R. tr. Herodotus ii. 93 These male fishe as they passe still onwarde shed theyr seede by the way. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 154 There is a Fountaine, or a statua of a woman..and this statua shed water from all the haires of the head. 1630in Binnell Descr. Thames (1758) 66 Roaches do then shed their Spawn. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 440 From their Groins they shed A slimy Juice, by false Conception bred. 1822–29Good's Study Med. (ed. 3) I. 534 [Polypi] which, if they discharge any thing, shed blood. 1855Browning An Epistle 24, I have shed sweat enough, left flesh and bone On many a flinty furlong of this land. 1864Rep. Sea Fisheries Comm. (1865) II. 1189/1 This was fresh spawn just shed. 1880Times 21 Dec. 6/4 The large number of salmon just ready to shed their eggs.
7. a. To cause (blood) to flow from the body by cutting or wounding; to let fall (a person's blood) on the ground, etc.
c1205Lay. 5187 Heo smiten to-gædere..redde blod scede; rinkas feollen. a1225Ancr. R. 402 Þis blod, for ou i-sched upo þe herde two treon, schal makien ou Sarepciens. c1290Beket 2185 in S. Eng. Leg. 169 Forto gaderi of þe blode þat i-sched was on þe grounde. a1300Cursor M. 1129 His blod on erth sced lijs. Ibid. 4151 Þat na blod o him be schedd. c1300K. Horn (Laud MS.) 920 Cubert hem broute al honder He schedde of here blode And makede hem al wode. a1325MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 50 Blodwite, þat is quite of amerciaments for blod isedde. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 376 Ger wipe myn blud of ȝon stede, quhare I for þe gert it be schede! 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 429 Þe blood reed, Þat þe mayde Wynefrede Schadde at þat putte. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxxi. 307 In that Cytee is no man so hardy, to schede Blode of no man. c1400Destr. Troy 7929 My body hath þou brisit, & my blode shed. c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 275 Ȝe xal drynk myn blood with gret devocyon, Wheche xal be xad ffor mannys love. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 256 b, After that all his blode was shed. 1705Addison Italy 3 Ulysses here the Blood of Victims shed. 1847Mrs. A. Kerr tr. Ranke's Hist. Servia 128 Their attendants had already come to blows, and did not separate until blood had been shed.
b. With pregnant sense. (a) to shed the blood of (another person or persons): to kill in a manner involving effusion of blood; often loosely, to kill by violent means (whether blood is literally shed or not). So to shed blood: to destroy human life by violent means. to shed much, little blood: to destroy many, few lives. (b) to shed (one's own) blood: to undergo wounds or violent death in battle, martyrdom, or the like (for some person or cause, one's country, etc.).
(a)a1100Ags. Ps. xiii. 6 (Spelman) Hrade fot heora to aȝeotenne [Trin. Coll. MS. to scedende] blod. c1275Passion Our Lord 346 in O.E. Misc. 47 Þe gywes were ful bysie to scheden his blod. c1290S. Eng. Leg. 73 He mid vnriȝhte hadde i-sched mani ane mannes blod. a1300Cursor M. 11805 Hu had he hert to sced þair blod Þat neuer did til him bot godd? 1340Ayenb. 239 Moche uolk weren ysslaȝe and moche blod þer y-ssed. 1382Wyclif Ps. cv. 38 And thei shadden [1388 schedden] out the innocent blod. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas viii. x[i]v. (1494) D iij b, And where he rode cristen blode he shadde. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 156 Many ther were that her blood was shedde on the lande. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxii. 43 His saikles blude agane thai sched. c1560A. Scott Ps. li. 58 Lord God, deliuer me, and gyd Frome schedding blude, and homicyd. 1577Grange Golden Aphrod. etc. Q ij, Bloud shall be shedde for bloud, and life shall pay for lyfe. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 27 That day in that feild was sched mekle scotis blude. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. viii. 65 Relentless Love the cruel Mother led The Blood of her unhappy Babes to shed. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 235 The Thoughts of shedding humane Blood for my Deliverance, were very terrible to me. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxxv, He is a man of holy church—we may not shed his blood. 1838James Robber ii, I will shed no blood, except in our own defence. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre vi, They shed blood they had no right to shed.
(b)12..Song. Virg. 15 in O.E. Misc. 194 Bi-sek him..Þat for ous alle sad is blod. a1250Owl & Night. 1616 For heom ich chadde mi blod. c1315Shoreham i. 83 To wesschen ous cryst schedde his blod And water out of hys wonde. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxvi. (Baptista) 1009 Þat haly nowmir to fulfil, Þat sched þare blud for cristis sak. 1471Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 624, I my self haue shedde moche of my blood. 1535Fisher Ways Perf. Relig. Wks. (1876) 385 Men and women for his loue haue shead theyr blood. 1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 103 This monarch [Alexander] sustaining infinite labor, and cheerefully sheading his blood. 1707Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 173 My Subjects are in a disposition to shed the last drop of their Blood for me. 1844Mem. Babylonian Princess II. 63 This spot, where our Saviour shed his blood to save all mankind from everlasting death.
8. To emit and let fall in drops.
a. With tears as obj.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 157 Swiche teres scedde M. Magdalene þa heo wosch ure drihtenes fet. 1423Jas. I. Kingis Q. cxvii, And of my cristall teris that bene schede, The hony flouris growen vp and sprede. 1575Gascoigne Kenelworth Wks. 1910 II. 128 Marke what teares they shed. c1610Lives of Women Saints 102/9 Who can recounte what plentie of teares she shodd for her owne sinnes, and the necessities of gods church. 1705Addison Italy, Pavia 37 A Tear that our Saviour shed over Lazarus. 1862M. E. Braddon Lady Audley xxxv, He could only shed childish tears of despair and terror. 1908[Miss E. Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 45 One [child] was sobbing and shedding tears.
slang.1864Hotten's Slang Dict., Shed a tear, to take a dram or glass of neat spirits... ‘Now then, old fellow, come and shed a tear!’
†b. absol. To shed tears. Obs. rare—1.
16..? Webster & Rowley Cure for Cuckold ii. iii. (1661) C 4 b, O Urse, give me leave to shed!
c. With obj. rain, dew, etc.
1590Spenser F.Q. ii. iii. 24 And, when she spake, Sweet words like dropping honny she did shed. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 520 Rising Cynthia sheds her Silver Dews. c1730Ramsay Masque 106 And cease, black clouds, to shed, or wet, or snaw. 1812J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 293 When evening sheds her dew.
†d. intr. Of rain, snow, etc.: To fall. Obs.
13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 506 Schyre schedez þe rayn in schowrez, ful warme. Ibid. 956 Hir brest..Schon schyrer þen snawe, þat scheder [read schedez] on hillez. c1386Chaucer Monk's T. 843 But swich a reyn doun fro the welkne shadde That slow the fyr. 1616Surflet & Markham Country Farm ii. lxii. 319 If anie raine happen to fall thereupon, yet it may by no meanes sinke into the Hiue, but rather fall off, and shed vpon the earth.
9. trans. To send forth as an emanation.
a. To throw (light) upon something. lit. and fig.
In the figurative use of the phrase shed is in our quots. not found before the 19th c.; earlier throw or cast was used.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 161 Þis edie maiden seinte marie of hire holie licame shedeð þat soðe liht þe lihteð alle brihte þinges on eorðe and ec on heuene. 13..Cursor M. 17883 (Gött.) Þat light es nu apon vs schede Þar we sitte in þe schadu of dede. c1402Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 3 And Phebus gan to shede his stremes shene Amid the Bole. 1599Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum Ded. iv, In euery place as Cynthia sheds her beames. 1775R. Chandler Trav. Asia M. viii. (1825) I. 30 The stars shone in a clear blue sky, shedding a calm serene light. 1805Wordsw. Prelude xiv. 279 O capacious Soul! Placed on this earth to love and understand, And from thy presence shed the light of love. 1853Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. xxi. (1876) 272 He has been shedding a glory round human life. 1853Kingsley Hypatia xix, A lamp of strange form hung from the ceiling, and shed a dim and lurid light. 1860[see light n. 6 a]. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. vi, You come like I don't know what..shedding a halo all around you. 1912Times 19 Oct. 7/3 The statement..sheds little light upon a situation still enveloped in mystery.
†b. With inverted construction: To suffuse with light. Obs.
1412–20Lydg. Troy Bk. i. 2771 Sche..sawe..þat þe ferþe parte Of þe mone was schad with newe liȝt.
c. To give forth, diffuse (fragrance, sound, heat, etc.); to pour out, impart (influence, blessings, qualities, etc.). Also with advs., abroad, † forth, † out.
a1325Prose Psalter xliv. 3 Grace is shadde in þy lippes. 1412–20Lydg. Troy Bk. i. 2612 And holsomm bawme is schad among þe grene. c1500Melusine iv. 22 This might not be perfightly knowen, yf thou shadd nat vpon the men somwhat of thy full & deuyne grace. 1525Tindale N.T. Prol., Tyll Christ have..powred into him that selfe good thynge whych he shedeth forth afterwarde on other. 1526― Rom. v. 5 For the love that god hath vnto vs is sheed abrod [Gr. ἐκκέχυται] in oure hertes [so later versions] by the holy gost, which is geven vnto vs. 1535Coverdale Acts x. 45 The gifte of y⊇ holy goost was shed out also vpon the Heythen. 1587Golding De Mornay Pref. (ad fin.), Now God vouchsafe to shead out his blessing vpon this worke. Ibid. iv. 47 The heate which the Sunne sheadeth into vs from aboue. 1642–7H. More Song of Soul iii. i. v, Wakend by piercing trump, that farre doth shed Its searching sound. 1709Steele Tatler No. 130 ⁋11 All the Prosperity and Success which Heaven ever shed on a Mortal. 1716Gay Trivia ii. 443 Now, heaven-born Charity! thy blessings shed. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1808) I. 155 For him the stars shine and shed influences upon earth. 1769Gray Ode for Music 73 Bid it round heaven's altars shed The fragrance of it's blushing head. 1807Moore Ir. Melodies, ‘Harp that once’ 2 The harp that once through Tara's halls, The soul of music shed. 1812Cary Dante, Parad. iv. 115 Whose lively words Still shed new heat and vigour through My soul. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. III. iii. vi, The waving of it shed terror through the souls of men. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xvi, Your piety sheds respectability on us. 1877R. H. Hutton Ess. (ed. 2) I. Pref. 19 An infinite power shed abroad in the world.
absol.1525Tindale N.T. Prol., Be faith we receave of god, and be love we shed oute agayne.
10. To cast off by natural process.
a. To cast off as exuviæ; to undergo the falling of (hair, etc.). Also absol.
1510Stanbridge Vocabula (W. de W.) C vj b, Depennesco, to multe, or to shede fethers. 1530Palsgr. 701/2 I shede my heare, my heare falleth. 1594Marlowe & Nashe Dido i. i. 36 Venus Swannes shall shed their siluer downe. 1721Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 91 The Stag and some other sorts of Deer are subject to shedding and renewing their Horns annually. 1732A. Monro Anatomy (ed. 2) 170 Some more of those [teeth]..are shedded. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxi, A broken and soiled white feather, intersected with one which had been shed from the train of a peacock. 1833Hunter's Catal. Physiol. Ser. Comp. Anat. Mus. Coll. Surg. I. 100 [Elephants] do not shed their teeth as other animals do that have more than one. 1845Judd Margaret ii. xi. (1874) 346 When hens are shedding their feathers they don't lay eggs. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 537 It is very common for the whole of the nails to be shed in the attack. Ibid. 809 The epidermis becoming shed.
absol.1879St. Nicholas Nov. 84/2 He still grows till he is called a ‘Buster’, and then sheds. Then he is called a ‘Soft Crab’. 1974M. G. Eberhart Danger Money (1975) xiii. 139 Her jacket still bore some stray beige hairs from Toby [sc. a cat]; doesn't he ever stop shedding? she thought.
transf. and fig.
1776Foote Capuchin ii. (1778) 116 When the sun and summer of plenty returns, I shall shed my coat like a colt. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xvi. (1856) 121 The floes..now shed off dusty wreaths of snow. 1865Swinburne Chastelard v. i. 175 The day comes when a woman sheds her sin As a bird moults. 1910Spectator 20 Aug. 269/1 He sheds his bad reputation as a snake its skin.
b. Of trees, plants: To lose, cast off (leaves, flowers, bark, etc.).
1598Barnfield Poems, Compl. Poetrie xv, The Trees (for sorrowe) shead their fading Leaues. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 893 From his slack hand the Garland wreath'd for Eve Down drop'd, and all the faded Roses shed. 1798S. Lee Canterb. T., Yng. Lady's T. II. 295 The myrtles..[were] shedding their uncherished blossoms over the perishing works of man. 1819Shelley Ode to West Wind 16 Thou on whose stream, mid the steep sky's commotion, Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed. 1857Livingstone Trav. xxiii. 462 Some of the bushes and trees are green; others are shedding their leaves.
†c. To cause the shedding of (leaves). Obs.
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 558 When Storms have shed From Vines, the hairy Honours of their Head.
d. Of plants: To let fall, cast (seed) out of the receptacle.
1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §35 In some countreys..they do fan theyr corne, the whiche is..a great saueguarde for shedynge of the corne. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 128 Hops dried in loft, aske tendance oft, And shed their seedes, much more than needes. 1720P. Blair Bot. Ess. Pref. 6 The Apices..are ready to shed the Dust when it [the Flower] is expanded. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 634 As it is apt to shed its seed when ripe, it is advisable to cut it with the dew upon it. 1862Ansted Channel Isl. iv. xx. (ed. 2) 476 Owing to a bad habit of leaving the crops till over-ripe, large quantities are shed on the fields.
e. colloq. To drop, let go; to give away (something of no particular value).
1855Dickens Dorrit i. xxi, Whether it had occurred to his good friend, that Society might not unreasonably hope that one so blest in his undertakings,..would shed a little money in the direction of a mission or so to Africa? 1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 391, I shed a box of lucifer matches on her,..knowing that one of the great charms of a white man to a black is this habit of shedding things.
f. transf. To take off (a garment); to doff, divest oneself of. Also fig.
1858Lawrence (Kansas) Republican 28 Oct. 1/6 She was compelled to ‘shed’ her woman's ‘fixin's’, and put on a man's breeches and hickory shirt. 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xx. 196 The duke shed his coat and said he was all right, now. 1922Joyce Ulysses 523 You will shed your male garments, you understand, Ruby Cohen? 1976Times 18 Mar. 1 Cabinet members had been allowed to shed their ministerial cloaks and campaign for their own beliefs.
g. Of a share: to fall in price by (an amount). Financial colloq.
1947Financial Times 29 Jan. 1/7 Preferences remained comparatively steady, although B.A.G.S. Sixes shed ½ to 22½. 1981Times 11 Apr. 19/5 Hawker Siddeley added 2p to 266p and Glaxo shed a similar figure at 322p.
h. to shed (a, the, etc.) load: temporarily to curtail the electricity supply to an area in order to prevent excessive demand on the generating plant. Cf. load-shedding s.v. load n. 8.
1947Times 27 Feb. 7/3 The alternative was to go on running every day, and to shed the load because they could not carry the peak load. 1952Blackw. Mag. Dec. 483/1 And if the local electrician chose the middle of your party to shed a load—well, where were you then? 1975IEEE Trans. Power Apparatus & Systems XCIV. 360/1, 65% of the companies shed 25% or 30% of their load on underfrequency. Ibid. 360/2 Most companies shed load in two or three steps.
11. intr. for refl.
†a. Of the hair: To fall off. Obs.
1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §110 Myllettes..causeth the heare to sheede. 1530Palsgr. 701/2 Your heares shede, you wyll waxe balde. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 487 The same also being mingled with a certaine oyle and warmed together, and anointed vpon the head of any one, whose hair doth shed,..doth immediatly helpe and cure the same. 1611Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girl I 4 b, His haire sheds off. 1644Digby Nat. Bodies xxxvii. §4. 326 We see the haire of women with childe, is apt to shedde. 1755H. Baker in Phil. Trans. XLIX. i. 22 When I saw this man, in the month of September last, they [wart-like growths] were shedding off in several places.
b. Of grain: To fall from the ear. Also of leaves or flowers: To drop off.
1557Tusser 100 Points Husb. §96 The corne, being ripe doe but shead as it stande. 1584Cogan Haven Health xlix. 57 Artichokes..[are] thought to make euill iuice, especially when the flowers begin to shed. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 319 The seeded Pride That hath to this maturity blowne vp In ranke Achilles, must or now be cropt, Or shedding breed a Nursery of like euil To ouer⁓bulke vs all. 1681R. L'Estrange Tully's Offices 103 All Disguises pass away, and shed like Flowers. 1707Mortimer Husb. 355 The broad leaved Lime..bears a very fine broad Leaf, only it is apt to shed too soon. 1760R. Brown Compl. Farmer ii. 81 White oats are apt to shed most as they lie, and black as they stand. 1790W. H. Marshall Midl. Counties II. 442 To Shade, to shed, as corn. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 284 The wheat..sheds very easily, that is, the corn or grain falls very readily out of the husk.
12. To slope. Now dial.
1530Palsgr. 702/1, I shedde, as an hyll dothe slopewyse downwardes to the valley... It is a pleasaunt syght to se howe the hylles shedde on eache syde in to the medowes. 1688,1747[see shedding ppl. a.1 3]. 1826Wilbraham Chesh. Gloss. (ed. 2), To Shead is also to slope down ground regularly.
13. The verb-stem in combination: † shed-fork, app. = pitchfork; † shed-spade, ? a dungfork or graip.
1559Richmond Wills (Surtees) 134, ijo shede forks, ijo shed spaids. 1706S. Centlivre Platonick Lady iv. iv. (1707) 57 All my Rigging hangs as if 'twas zhaked on with a Zhed Vork, as the old Zaying is.
Add:[10.] i. Of an employer, etc.: to divest oneself or dispose of (excess workers or jobs), esp. by sacking or redundancy. colloq. (freq. euphem.).
1975Economist 8 Mar. 85 In the year to last September, the industry shed about 100,000 of its workforce. 1979Times 6 Dec. 21/3 (heading) British Shipbuilders to shed 1,400 workers. 1982Economist 28 Aug. 22/1 The environment secretary..is fond of using his own department's record in shedding jobs as a stick to wave at local government. 1987R.A.F. Yearbk. 35/1 Each year, the Arrows shed three pilots and take on an equal number.
▪ VIII. shed, v.2|ʃɛd|
[f. shed n.2 1.]
trans. †a. To roof over. Obs. b. To place in a shed. Also with up (N.Z. colloq.).
1546Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 175 The 15th daie of September the forreine buchers beganne to keepe their markett in Leeden Hall, which was sheeded rounde aboute for them to stand dry. 1850Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XI. ii. 419, I have left off shedding my own sheep. 1887Pall Mall Gaz. 21 Mar. 2/1 As to hay feeding and shedding during the winter, that is quite impracticable. 1950N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Oct. 310 Sheep brought in for shearing should be spelled before shedding up, otherwise the pens in the shed get very dirty and much wool is stained. 1981I. A. Gordon in N.Z. Listener 27 June 86 When you shed-up sheep you put them under cover to prevent their fleeces from getting wet before shearing.
▪ IX. shed, ppl. a.|ʃɛd|
[pa. pple. of shed v.1]
†1. Separated; ? in several ownership. Obs.
1425in Rep. MSS. Ld. Middleton (1911) 107 No man with comyn herd ne with sched herd com on the wold after gresse be mowen to it [be] maked and led away. Ibid. 108 Nother comyn herd ne sched herd com' in the qwyte corn feld to the korn [be l]ad awey.
2. Fallen; discarded, cast off.
c1430Chev. Assigne 119 Of sadde leues of þe wode wrowȝte he hem wedes. 1847H. Miller Test. Rocks viii. (1857) 318 It is not credible that all the solid shed antlers of such a species of deer could be carried by the same cause to such a distance. 1892E. Reeves Homeward Bound 43 The shed bark hanging over its branches and clinging to its trunk like a sheeted ghost.
3. Of blood, tears (see shed v.1 7, 8). Also dial. of liquids: Spilt.
1824Mrs. Cameron Pink Tippet iii. 17 ‘There is no use in crying for shed milk,’ answered Betty. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 155 Clots formed in shed blood.
4. (See shed v.1 2 b.)
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1285 The weaver..drives the fly⁓shuttle swiftly from one side of the loom to the other, between the shed warp yarns.
▪ X. shed
see shet. |