- shed
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I. verb
(shed; shedding)
Etymology: Middle English, to divide, separate, from Old English scēadan; akin to Old High German skeidan to separate, Latin scindere to split, cleave, Greek schizein to split
Date: before 12th century
transitive verb
1. chiefly dialect to set apart ; segregate
2. to cause to be dispersed without penetrating <duck's plumage sheds water> 3. a. to cause (blood) to flow by cutting or wounding b. to pour forth in drops <shed tears> c. to give off or out <sheds some light on the subject> 4. to give off, discharge, or expel from the body of a plant or animal: as a. to eject, slough off, or lose as part of the normal processes of life <a caterpillar shedding its skin> <a cat shedding hair> <a deciduous tree sheds its leaves in the fall> b. to discharge usually gradually especially as part of a pathological process <shed a virus in the feces> 5. to rid oneself of temporarily or permanently as superfluous or unwanted <shed her inhibitions> <the company shed 100 jobs> intransitive verb 1. to pour out ; spill 2. to become dispersed ; scatter 3. to cast off some natural covering (as fur or skin) <the cat is shedding> Synonyms: see discard II. noun Date: 12th century 1. obsolete distinction, difference 2. something (as the skin of a snake) that is discarded in shedding 3. a divide of land III. noun Etymology: alteration of earlier shadde, probably from Middle English shade shade Date: 1557 1. a. a slight structure built for shelter or storage; especially a single-storied building with one or more sides unenclosed b. a building that resembles a shed 2. archaic hut • shedlike adjective IV. transitive verb (shedded; shedding) Date: 1850 to put or house in a shed
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
