shrew

shrew
I. noun Etymology: Middle English shrewe evil or scolding person, from Old English scrēawa shrew (animal) Date: before 12th century 1. any of a family (Soricidae) of small chiefly nocturnal insectivores related to the moles and distinguished by a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and short velvety fur 2. an ill-tempered scolding woman • shrewlike adjective II. transitive verb Date: 14th century obsolete curse

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Shrew — Shrew, n. [See {Shrew}, a.] 1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold. [1913 Webster] A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shrew — Shrew, v. t. [See {Shrew}, a., and cf. {Beshrew}.] To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] I shrew myself. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shrew — Shrew, a. [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. {Shrewd}.] Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shrew — small mammal, O.E. screawa shrew mouse, unknown outside English, perhaps from P.Gmc. *skreu to cut (see SHRED (Cf. shred)). Alternative O.E. word for it was scirfemus, from sceorfan to gnaw. The meaning peevish, malignant, clamorous, spiteful,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • shrew — [ʃru:] n [: Old English; Origin: screawa] 1.) a very small animal like a mouse with a long pointed nose 2.) old fashioned an unpleasant woman who always argues and disagrees with people …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shrew — [ ʃru ] noun count 1. ) a small animal that looks like a mouse with a pointed nose 2. ) OLD FASHIONED an insulting word for a woman who always complains, argues, or NAGS …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shrew — scold, vixen, termagant, *virago, amazon …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • shrew — ► NOUN 1) a small insect eating mammal resembling a mouse, with a long pointed snout and tiny eyes. 2) a bad tempered or aggressively assertive woman. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • shrew — [shro͞o] n. [ME schrewe, a malicious person < OE screawa, shrewmouse, akin to OHG scrawaz, dwarf, goblin, MHG schröuwel, devil < IE * (s)ker : see SHRED] 1. any of a number of small, slender, mouselike insectivore mammals (esp. family… …   English World dictionary

  • shrew — shrew1 shrewlike, adj. /shrooh/, n. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant. [1200 50; ME; special use of SHREW2] Syn. virago, nag, scold. shrew2 /shrooh/, n. any of several small, mouselike insectivores of the genus Sorex and related… …   Universalium

  • Shrew — Taxobox name = ShrewsMSW3 Hutterer | pages = 223 300] fossil range = Middle Eocene to Recent image width = 250px image caption = Southern Short tailed Shrew regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia ordo = Soricomorpha familia =… …   Wikipedia

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