1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 181 Artegiæ [sic].., thatcht sheds or shelters.

1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late i. 2 A hat of straw like a swaine Shealter for the sonne and raine.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Abri, a couert, shrowd, shelter, or shadie place.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Begude, a Cote, Cottage, thatched shed, or shelter.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 38 Alas, the storme is come againe: my best way is to creepe vnder his Gaberdine: there is no other shelter hereabout. View more context for this quotation

a1731 D. Defoe New Voy. round World (1787) III. 190 Their tent was a sufficient shelter from the rain.

1775 S. Johnson Journey W. Islands 162 They were probably the shelters of the keepers.

1825 W. Scott Talisman xv, in Tales Crusaders IV. 349 A tent, which..differed little from that of the ordinary shelter of the common Curdman, or Arab.

1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times viii. 245 A number of small caves and rock-shelters in the Dordogne.

1877 J. C. Geikie Life & Words Christ I. xxix. 488 The people of Tiberias are glad to sleep in shelters of straw or leaves on their roofs, during the hot months.

1881 Macmillan's Mag. 43 388/2 Copies may be seen occasionally in cabmen's shelters.

1894 Daily News 25 July 7/5 The erection of band stands, cricket shelters, refreshment houses, park lodges, and seated shelters.

a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) i. i. 181 The Gods to their deere shelter take thee Maid.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. i. 8 Spurre through Media, Mesapotamia, and the shelters, whether The routed flie. View more context for this quotation

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 843 [They] wish'd the Mountains now might be again Thrown on them as a shelter from his ire. View more context for this quotation

1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 25 As for the Wood, it was a good Shelter to save ones Life.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. ii. vi. 132 The Bouillé vanguard..sweeps Mutiny..into shelters and cellars.

1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 159 She made her way to the old shelter in Flanders, and found a home at Saint Omer.

1906 Times Hist. War S. Africa IV. 581 The Colonel had some difficulty in persuading the garrison and townspeople to use the shelters against gun-fire.

1918 Ann Reg. 1917 i. 175 Much greater public attention was paid to the question of air-raids... Arrangements were made to provide shelters throughout London.

1938 Times (Weekly ed.) 29 Dec. 3/1 Sir John Anderson outlined his plans for the provision of shelters against high explosive bombs.

1943 G. Greene Ministry of Fear i. i. 17 The sirens began their nightly wail... She was making for her favourite shelter down the street.

1961 E. S. Turner Phoney War v. 50 The authorities had no intention of allowing the Underground to be used as a shelter.., but when the bombing began the people simply bought tickets and took possession of it.

1961 John o' London's 28 Sept. 345/1 The make-it-yourself fallout shelter.

1978 L. Deighton SS-GB ii. 18 She was killed.. during the air attacks... He was in the shelter that day.

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iv. 22 His fained extasies Shall be no shelter to these outrages. View more context for this quotation

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. iii. 42 And thou shalt proue a shelter to thy friends. View more context for this quotation

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms lxi. 3 For thou hast bene a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. View more context for this quotation

1618 Owles Almanacke 42 He that roofes not his wife vnder one of your [haberdasher's] shelters on his marriage day, shall be trust vp.

a1650 D. Calderwood Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1678) 811 The Government of Prelats is a shelter for damnable Sects.

1855 T. T. Lynch Lett. to Scattered (1872) vi. 84 The storms of the law may drive men to the shelter of the gospel.

1613 G. Markham Eng. Husbandman: 1st Pt. i. Former Pt. ii. A 4 [Choose a situation] inuironed..with rowes of greater timber,..the shelter will be most excellent to keepe off the bleaknesse of the..tempests in winter.

1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 59 in Sylva Covering them [seeds] with shuts and shelter.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husb. (1721) 292 I shall advise the planting of shelter on the West and South West.

1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 418 The trees..when they grow large..produce an injurious degree of shelter and shade.

1888 Law Times 85 132/2 If the timber adds beauty or shelter to the mansion-house, the tenant for life must leave it intact.

c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1644 (1955) II. 216 In a house, or temporary shelter of boards..we were shewd that most stupendous..Toro of Amphion, and Dirces.

1817 J. Mayer Sportsman's Direct. (ed. 2) 175 Cover it [sc. a trap] with a thin board that the fowls may not spring it in going to roost, then take the board or shelter away.

1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. xiii. 294 The pressure of the fuel upon the crucible..may be prevented by hanging a shelter over it.

1890 W. Booth In Darkest Eng. ii. ii. 97 You come along to one of our Shelters. On entering you pay four~pence, and are free of the establishment for the night.

1895 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 June 1399/2 Philanthropic Shelters. The establishment of shelters for the class of poor wanderers in the metropolis is in itself praiseworthy.

1895 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 22 June 1399/2 A Salvation Army shelter.

1934 Changing Men 25 There has been no homelier, happier place than the Woman's Shelter in High Street.

1976 New Society 17 June 633/2 All lodging houses, hostels and night shelters in Glasgow were visited on two nights last winter.

1971 New Yorker 30 Oct. 41/1 The Bide-A-Wee animal shelter in Westhampton.

1979 Arizona Daily Star 22 July J 4/4 Lillian Schaaf willed her $1 million estate for a new animal shelter to be built on land she owned outside Worthington, Ohio.

1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. ii. 12 The Cedar..Whose armes gaue shelter to the princelie Eagle.

1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. ii. iii. 35 Some breer-bush shewing shelter from the showre, Vnto the hopefull sheepe... The ruth-lesse breere..Layes hold vpon the fleece..of the carelesse pray, That thought she in securer shelter lay.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 265 We..seeke no shelter to auoid the storme. View more context for this quotation

1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxiv. i. 241 A..tempestuous wind..had..made such confusion among their places of harbour and shelture.

1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures x. 33 Under the shelter of certain packs of Cotton..they one morning assaulted the principal Fortress.

1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World ii. 68 Where, perhaps, a ship might find good shelter.

1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iv. vi. 216 Had I needed shelter there was another roof which has long awaited me.

1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) IV. xviii. 225 The sons of Harold had..found shelter with the same prince who had once sheltered their father.

1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona i. 4 We took shelter under a pend at the head of a close or alley.

1900 A. Conan Doyle Great Boer War xi. 192 Once more it was shown how weak an arm is artillery against an enemy who lies in shelter.

1630 J. Smith True Trav. Ded. The shadow of your most noble vertues..under which I hope to have shelter, against all stormes that dare threaten.

1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 46 The way..to set my conscience at rest, and my honour at shelter.

1693 J. Locke Some Thoughts conc. Educ. §200. 257 Thus under the Shelter and Pretence of a Governour, thinking themselves excused from standing upon their own Legs.

1822 C. Lamb in London Mag. Nov. 454/1 He [sc. Joseph Paice] took me under his shelter at an early age, and bestowed some pains upon me.

1835 T. B. Macaulay Sir James Mackintosh in Ess. (1854) I. 342/2 The tribunals ought to be sacred places of refuge, where..the innocent of all parties may find shelter.

1866 J. Martineau Ess. Philos. & Theol. 1st Ser. 345 Scientific theology lost the shelter of the mitre.

1906 Duke of Argyll Autobiogr. I. vi. 144 A shelter barrack [for the workmen on Skerryvore Lighthouse] was an absolute necessity.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 197 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV For a shelter belt..this [sc. maple] will be found suitable.

1910 Mrs. H. Ward Canadian Born 335 Epil. The thin background of a few taller trees,—the ‘shelter-belt’ of the farm.

1866 Rep. Indian Affairs 244 The construction of shelter-houses for the Santees for the coming Winter.

1892 Daily News 28 July 6/1 Seated in a small shelter~house protecting us against the glacier winds.

1899 Westm. Gaz. 31 July 2/3 To accommodate these families vestries have established shelter houses.

1861 H. Stephens & R. S. Burn Bk. Farm-buildings §1376 We give the plan of a shelter~shed to be placed at the corner of four fields.

1943 W. Lewis Let. 26 Jan. (1963) 342 A sculptor of course cannot exactly be commissioned to do marbles of shelter-life.

1974 Times 21 Jan. 4/3 The Medical Officer of Health reported in 1940 that the increase in deaths from respiratory diseases was at least partially due to shelter life.

1940 New Statesman 19 Oct. 372/2 Lord Horder's Committee attaches much importance to the shelter marshals, who should be paid, whole-time officials, chosen from the wardens' service for their proper human understanding and given a status which would entitle them to the help of the police and authority over the shelterers.

1974 ‘C. Fremlin’ By Horror Haunted 12 The kids larking about..the Shelter Wardens shouting at them.

1940 New Statesman 19 Oct. 372/1 In every shelter I have been in during the past six weeks I have heard that hacking ‘shelter cough’ and the wheezy sleep of the bronchial cases.

1942 Sun (Baltimore) 23 Apr. 22/2 A similar ailment is called ‘shelter paralysis’.

1943 Our Towns (Women's Group on Public Welfare) iii. 78 Scabies or ‘the Itch’ has now almost achieved respectability under the name of ‘Shelter Rash’.

1940 New Statesman 19 Oct. 372/1 Equally common are the complaints of ‘shelter throats’, which may mean anything from tonsilitis to diphtheria.

1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange xxiii A most complete..drenching to both the shelter-seekers.

1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 9 The shelter-seeking peasant builds his shed.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Aa2^v A still And calmy bay, on th'one side sheltered With the brode shadow of an hoarie hill.

1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. iv. 51 The weedes which his broad spreading leaues did shelter..Are pluckt vp.

1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 73 Scarce a Shed Could be obtain'd to shelter him or me From the bleak air. View more context for this quotation

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry xvi. 367 I should advise the planting of other Trees round them to shelter them.

1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 244 Sheltering the light with her hand, she descended the first flight of stairs.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvi. 111 A wall of rock..sheltered us from the north wind.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 167 We fled amain, pursu'd..With Heav'ns afflicting Thunder, and besought The Deep to shelter us. View more context for this quotation

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 824 Hee with them of Man and Beast Select for life shall in the Ark be lodg'd, And shelterd round. View more context for this quotation

a1781 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip III (1783) i. 65 They were sheltered from the fire of the besiegers, by a dyke.

1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 3) xx. 396 Harbours and ports, which may shelter the navy in the operations of war.

1597 [implied in: W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. v. 32 Well well, he was the couertst sheltred traitor That euer liu'd. View more context for this quotation].

1702 C. Beaumont J. Beaumont's Psyche (new ed.) ii. cxlii. 23 Why was not I deform'd, that shelter'd in Secure neglect, I might have scap'd this sin!

1709 M. Prior Poems Several Occasions 87 In vain I strove to..shelter Passion under Friendship's Name.

1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) IV. 51 The vendor, who had made use of the act for sheltering fraud.

1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 28 Friend, he was sheltered by the grave, And therefore dared to be a liar!

1884 B. Bosanquet et al. tr. H. Lotze Metaphysic 444 Many..will make use of his expressions in order to shelter under a great name their favourite doctrine.

1663 J. Dryden To Dr. Charleton in W. Charleton Chorea Gigantum sig. b2^v These Ruines [Stonehenge] sheltred once His Sacred Head, Then when from Wor'sters fatal Field He fled.

1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xviii. 275 And do others beside your master shelter him? View more context for this quotation

1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. iii. 17 His children and his wife, whom he is bound To love and shelter.

1825 W. Scott Betrothed v, in Tales Crusaders II. 119 Amid the same scenes which had sheltered her infancy and childhood.

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam c. 154 The roofs, that heard our earliest cry, Will shelter one of stranger race. View more context for this quotation

1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) II. vii. 143 The King, instead of bringing them to justice, was sheltering them.

1908 Blackwood's Mag. July 147/1 When he [Champlain] died in the city which had sheltered him for many years.

1963 Vital Speeches XXIX. 357/2 A tightening of the personal holding company rules, to end the escapes from individual taxation now available through the use of these devices to shelter investment income.

1972 P. C. Reid Corporate & Executive Tax, Sheltered Investments ix. 125 The prospective investor should always keep in mind that the major objective is to shelter his income.

1973 Times 10 Dec. 7/5 False rumours..that I sheltered the income on which my daughter, Tricia, should have paid taxes.

1975 Tax Shelter Investments (U.S. Congress Jt. Comm. on Internal Revenue Taxation) iii. 22 He sheltered $13,000 with a cattle feeding operation.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues se Taudir, to couer, shrowd, shelter, hide himselfe.

1663 Act 15 Chas. II c. 2 Preamb. Great Townes where..such idle and lewd persons doe shelter themselves.

a1701 H. Maundrell Let. in Journey to Jerusalem sig. b3^v The only Defence I have is by sheltering my self in the Crow'd.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. v. 21 Let there come a tempest of prouocation, I will shelter mee heere. View more context for this quotation

1675 in O. Airy Essex Papers (1890) I. 295 My L^d Newport shelters himselfe under D.M. interest.

1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xxxv. 49 You may shelter yourself under the forms of a parliament.

1825 W. Scott Betrothed iii, in Tales Crusaders II. 76 If it is meant..that I have any purpose of sheltering myself behind the Prelate's authority.

1837 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece IV. 225 They..thought it better to purchase the silence of the informer—unless they could shelter themselves by such an expedient.