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 verb 1 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> c chiefly Scottish : to reap with a sickle d : to cut or trim with shears or a similar instrument
2 : to cut with something sharp
3 : 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 verb 1 : to cut through something with or as if with a sharp instrument
2 chiefly Scottish : to reap crops with a sickle
3 : to become divided under the action of a shear

— shear·er noun