Main Entry: shard

Pronunciation: \ˈshärd\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sceard; akin to Old English scieran to cut — more at shear

Date: before 12th century

1 a : a piece or fragment of a brittle substance <shards of glass>; broadly : a small piece or part : scrap <little shards of time and space recorded by the camera's lens — Rosalind Krauss> b : shell, scale; especially : elytron
2 or sherd \ˈshərd\ : fragments of pottery vessels found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived
3 : highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments