Main Entry:

¹shear

Pronunciation:

\ˈshir\

Function:

verb

Inflected Form(s):

sheared; sheared or shorn \ˈshȯrn\ ; shear·ing

Etymology:

Middle English sheren, from Old English scieran; akin to Old Norse skera to cut, Latin curtus mutilated, curtailed, Greek keirein to cut, shear, Sanskrit kṛnāti he injures

Date:

before 12th century

transitive verb1 a: to cut off the hair from b: to cut or clip (as hair or wool) from someone or something ; also : to cut something from <shear a lawn> cchiefly Scottish : to reap with a sickle d: to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument2: to cut with something sharp3: to deprive of something as if by cutting <lives shorn of any hope — M. W. Browne>4 a: to subject to a shear force b: to cause (as a rock mass) to move along the plane of contactintransitive verb1: to cut through something with or as if with a sharp instrument2chiefly Scottish : to reap crops with a sickle3: to become divided under the action of a shear

— shear·er noun