Shear definition
Shearing a hedge.
The prisoners were shorn of their dignity.
When you shave a sheep, this is an example of shear.
An example of shear is when you have your hair cut off.
A two-shear ram.
A sheep of three shears.
Shear through the wheat.
Origin of shear
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From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English sheren, from Old English scieran, from Proto-Germanic *skeranÄ…, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut"). Cognate with West Frisian skeare, Low German scheren, Dutch scheren, German scheren, Danish skære, Norwegian skjære, Swedish skära; and (from Indo-European) with Ancient Greek κείρω (keirō, “I cut off"), Latin caro (“flesh"), Albanian harr (“to cut, to mow"), Lithuanian skìrti (“separate"), Welsh ysgar (“separate"). See also sharp.
From Wiktionary