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shylock

noun shy·lock \ ˈshī-ˌläk \

Definition of shylock

1 capitalized : the Jewish usurer and antagonist of Antonio in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice
2 : loan shark

First Known Use of shylock

circa 1597

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

2

shylock

verb

Definition of shylock

shylocked; shylocking; shylocks
intransitive verb
: to lend money at high rates of interest
  • exposé of systematic thievery … shylocking, and murder
  • —Current Biography

First Known Use of shylock

circa 1934

in the meaning defined above

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Learn More about shylock

  1. See words that rhyme with shylock Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shylock

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