S
sack,a loose kind of gown worn by ladies. Peele, Sir Clyomon (ed. Dyce, p. 516).
sackage, saccage,the act of sacking (a city, &c.); ‘The saccage of Carthage’, Holland, tr. Pliny, I. xv. 18. 443;to saccage, to sack or plunder, Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, i. 24, p. 63. Fr.saccager, to sack, ransack, pillage (Cotgr.).
sackful,given to plundering; ‘Sackful troops’, Mirror for Mag., Robert, D. of Normandy, st. 40; Chapman, tr. of Iliad, ii. 601.
sackless,guiltless, innocent, Greene, Isabel’s Sonnet, l. 9 (ed. Dyce, p. 299);sakeles, Gascoigne, Works, i. 379. In common prov. use in the north country (EDD.). ME.sakless, innocent (Barbour’s Bruce, xx. 175). OE.saclēas, free from charge, guiltless (Matt. xxviii. 14, Lind.).
sacrament,an oath. B. Jonson, Catiline, i. 1 (Cat.). L.sacramentum, the military oath of allegiance; also, an oath, a solemn engagement.
sacring-bell,the small bell rung at the elevation of the host. Hen. VIII, iii. 2. 295. Deriv. of the vb.sacre, to consecrate the elements in the Eucharist, ‘I sacre, I halowe,Je sacre’, Palsgrave. ME.sacrynor halwyn, ‘consecro’ (Prompt.).
sad,settled, steadfast, constant. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 11. 45; ‘Settled in his face I see Sad resolution and secure’, Milton, P. L. vi. 541; grave, serious, Bacon, Adv. Learning, ii. 23. 5; grave, sober (of attire), F. Q. i. 10. 7. ME.sador sobyr, ‘maturatus, agelastes’ (Prompt.).
sadness,seriousness, gravity. 3 Hen. VI, iii. 2. 77. ME.sadnessein poorte and chere, ‘soliditas, maturitas’ (Prompt.).
safe,to make safe, to secure. Ant. and Cl. i. 3. 55;saft, pt. t., Chapman, tr. of Iliad, viii. 291; pp., id., 444.
safeguard,an outer skirt worn by women to protect their dress when riding; ‘EnterMoll, in a frieze jerkin and a black safeguard’, Middleton, Roaring Girl, ii. 1; Fletcher, Noble Gentleman, ii. 1 (Marine). Formerly in prov. use in the west country in Devon, pronounced ‘seggard’; see (EDD.) (s.v. Safeguard). See Nares.
saffo,a serjeant, catchpole. B. Jonson, Volpone, iii. 5 (Vol.); v. 8 (1 Avoc). Ital. ‘zaffo(saffo), a common serjeant or base catch-pole, specially in Venice’ (Florio).
sag(g,to sink or subside gradually; ‘The Elme and the Ash are tough, howbeit they will soone settle downward and sag, being charged with any weight’, Holland, Pliny, i. 492;fig.(of the mind), ‘The minde I sway by . . . shall never sagge with doubt’, Macbeth, v. 3. 10;sagge, hanging or sagging down, Herrick, Oberon’s Feast, 27. In gen. prov. use in England and Scotland, see EDD. (s.v. Sag, vb.2). ME.saggyn(Prompt.).
sagg,to drag oneself along wearily or feebly. Drayton, Pol. xvi. 219; Twyne, tr. Aeneid, x. 283. Norw. dial.sagga, to walk heavily and slowly from weariness (Ross).
saine,pr. pl., they say. Spenser, F. Q. vii. 7. 55. ME.seien, pr. pl. P. Plowman).
saint,a card-game; seecent.
Saint Nicholas’ clerk,a highwayman. 1 Hen. IV, ii. 1. 67; Rowley, A Match at Midnight, i. 1 (Randall). See Nares (s.v. Nicholas).
Saint Thomas à Waterings,a place anciently used for executions for the county of Surrey, as Tyburn for Middlesex. It was situated at the second milestone on the Kent road, near a brook, a place for watering horses, whence its name; dedicated to St. Thomas Beket, being the first place of any note on the road to Canterbury: ‘And forth we riden . . . Unto the watering of seint Thomas, And there our host bigin his hors areste’, Chaucer, C. T.A.826. The allusions to this spot as a place of execution are numerous; ‘He may perhaps take a degree at Tyburn . . . come to read a lecture Upon Aquinas, at St. Thomas à Watering’s, And so go forth a laureat in hemp circle’, B. Jonson, New Inn, i (Host). See Nares (s.v. Waterings).
saker,a kind of falcon. Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, xv. 696; Middleton, Span. Gipsy, ii. 1 (Alvarez); also, a kind of ordnance or cannon, Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, iv. 3 (Bots); Butler, Hud. i. 2. 355. This word for a falcon is common to all the Latin nations; of Arabic origin, see Dozy, Glossaire, 338.
sale,a willow; used by Spenser to signify a wicker basket made of willow-twigs for catching fish. Spenser, Shep. Kal., Dec., 81. See EDD. (s.v. Seal, sb.3). OE.sealh, a willow.
sale,a hall, large chamber. Morte Arthur, bk. xvii, ch. 16 (p. 713); The World and the Child, l. 12, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 243. F.salle(sale), a hall (Cotgr.).
saliant,sportive, lively. Fletcher, The Chances, iv. 3 (Petruccio). From the heraldic use, as ‘lionsaliant’. Anglo-F.saillant, pres. pt. ofsailler, to leap (Ch. Rol. 2469).
saliaunce,assault, onslaught, Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 29. Anglo-F.assaillir, to attack (Ch. Rol. 2564);saillir(Wace, Rom. de Rou, 2595).
sallet,a light head-piece. 2 Hen. VI, iv. 10. 13; Thersites, 55 (ed. Pollard). Often used with a quibble referring tosallet, a form ofsalad; as in Tusser, Husbandry, § 40. 1. O. Prov.salada, sorte de casque (Levy), F.salade, ‘a salade, helmet, head-piece’ (Cotgr.), Ital.celata, ‘a morion, a casket, an helmet’ (Florio). See Nares.
Salmon, Salomon,the sacrament or oath of the beggars; ‘Salomon, a alter or masse’, Harman, Caveat, 83; ‘A part too of our salmon’, B. Jonson, Gipsies Metam. (2 Gipsy); ‘By the Salomon’, Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Trapdoor); ‘By Salmon’, Brome, Jovial Crew (NED.).
salpa,a kind of stock-fish. Middleton, Game at Chess, v. 3. 11. L.salpa(Pliny).
salt.A salt-cellar was usually placed near the middle of a long table, to divide the company according to their social rank; those of inferior distinction being placedbelow the salt. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, ii. 1 (Mercury).Above the salt, Massinger, Unnat. Combat, iii. 1 (Steward).
salt,a leap, esp. one made by a horse. Webster, White Devil (Lodovico), ed. Dyce, p. 34; B. Jonson, Devil an Ass, ii. 2 (Wittipol). L.saltus, a leap.
saltimbanco,a mountebank, a quack. Sir T. Browne, Vulgar Errors, bk. i, c. 3, § 11;saltinbancho, Butler, Hud. ii. 3. 1007. Ital.saltimbanco, a mountebank; fromsaltare in banco, to mount upon a bench; ‘Salta in banco, asMonta in banco;montáre in bánco, to play the mountebank’ (Florio). Span. ‘Sálta en banco, a mountebank’ (Stevens). See Stanford.
salue,to salute. Holland, Pliny II, 297; Udall, Apoph. 122;salew, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 6. 25. ME.salue,salewe(Chaucer); F.saluer; L.salutare.
saluë, salvee,some kind of boat; ‘Twentie Caruiles, and Saluees ten’, Dekker, Wh. of Babylon, Works, ii. 257. NED. (s.v. Salve, 3) gives a quotation of a passage which Dekker evidently copied, ‘There are 20 Carauels for the service of the above named Armie [the Armada], and likewise 10 Saluës with sixe Oares a-peece’, Archdeacon, tr. True Disc. Army, K. Spain, 38 (1588).
salvage,savage. Fletcher, Love’s Cure, iii. 2 (Picrato). Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 39; ii. 8. 42. O. Prov.salvatge, ‘qui vit dans les bois, sauvage, farouche’ (Levy); Med. L.salvaticus(Ducange); cp. Ital.salvático; L.silvaticus(Pliny).
salvatory,a box for holding ointments. Webster, Duch. of Malfi, iv. 2 (Bosola); ‘The Surgeon’s Salvator or Salvatory or his Box of Unguents’, Holme, Armoury, iii. 438; ‘Salvatory, a Surgeon’s Box, to hold Salves, Ointments, and Balsams’, Phillips, Dict., 1706. In Med. L.salvaloriumis given in Ducange only with the meanings (1)vivarium piscium, (2)monasterium, ‘ubi quis a mundi periculis tutussalvaturseu servatur’.
salvee;seesaluë.
sam,together. Spenser, Shep. Kal., May, 168. ME.sum, together (Cursor M. 9750); see NED. (s.v. Samen, adv.), and Dict. M. and S.
sambuke,a triangular stringed-instrument of a very sharp shrill tone. Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, 39). ME.sambuke(Wyclif, Dan. iii. 5), L.sambuca(Vulgate), Gk. σαμβύκη (LXX).
sambuke,a military engine for storming walls. Peacham, Comp. Gentleman, ix. 73. L.sambuca(Vegetius).
samite,a rich silk stuff. Morte Arthur, leaf 344. 30; bk. xvi, c. 17; leaf 380, back, 30; bk. xviii, c. 19 [Tennyson, Morte d’Arthur, 31 and 144]. O. Prov.samit, ‘étoffe de soie’ (Levy); Med. L.examitum; Byz. Gk. ἑξάμιτον, lit. woven with six different kinds of thread; see Ducange (s.v. Exametum); cp. Span.xaméte(Stevens).
sampire,‘samphire’. Drayton, Pol. xviii. 763; King Lear, iv. 6. 15;sampier, Baret, Alvearie. F. ‘herbe de S. Pierre, sampire’ (Cotgr.).
sampsuchine,oil of marjoram. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, v. 2 (Amorphus). Gk. σαμψύχινον, of marjoram; σάμψυχον, marjoram.
sanbenito.Under the Spanish Inquisition a penitential garment of yellow cloth, ornamented with a red St. Andrew’s cross before and behind, worn by a confessed and penitent heretic; ‘The Inquisitors . . . bringing with them certaine fooles coats . . . called . . .S. Benitos’, M. Phillips in Hakluyt’s Voyages, iii. 480; a garment of a black colour ornamented with flames, devils, and other devices worn by an impenitent heretic at an auto-da-fé, ‘Sambenitas, painted with all the flames and devils in hell’, Marvell, Reh. Transp. i. 276. In Butler’s Hud. iii. 2. 1574, ‘Sambenites’ are referred to vaguely. The garment was so called fromSan Benito, St. Benedict, from its resemblance to the scapular introduced by St. Benedict. See NED. and Stanford.
sance-bell, saunce-bell,corruptlysaint’s-bell,the Sanctus-bell, the bell orig. rung at theSanctusat Mass. TheSanctusorTer-sanctusrefers to the wordsanctus(thrice repeated) in the conclusion to the Eucharistic preface; in the English Liturgy ‘Holy, holy, holy’.Sance-bells, pl., Fletcher, Mad Lover, i. 1 (Fool). Speltsaint’s bell, Hall, Satires, bk. v, Sat. 1, l. 119;saunce-bell, Fletcher, Nightwalker, iii. 3 (Toby). See NED. (s.v. Sanctus Bell).
sanctus:phr.a black sanctus, a burlesque hymn, accompanied by discordant noises; a great discord. Fletcher, Wildgoose Chase, iv. 3 (Mirabel); Mad Lover, iv. 1 (Fool);black Saunce, Lyly, Endimion, iv. 2. 33. See Nares (s.v. Sanctus), andtintamar.
sanglier,a full-grown wild boar. Turbervile, Hunting, c. 37; p. 100; Manwood, Lawes Forest, iv, § 5 (ed. 1615, 43). F.sanglier, Med. L.singularis(Vulg., Ps. lxxix. 14) = the μονιός of the LXX, meaning a boar separated from the herd. Seesingler.
sanjak.In the Turkish Empire one of the administrative districts of a ‘vilayet’;sangiacque, Dacres, tr. Machiavelli’s Prince, 25 (NED.);sanzacke, a governor of a sanjak, Massinger, Renegado, iii. 4 (Carazie);sanziack, Sir T. Herbert, Trav. (ed. 1677, 277);sandiack, Shirley, Imposture, v. 1 (Volterino). Ital.sangiacco(Florio), Turk.sanjāq, lit. a banner (NED.);sanjac, a province, T. Herbert, Gram. Turk. Lang., 1709, p. 90. See Stanford.
sanna,a gesture of scorn. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, v. 2 (Amorphus). L.sanna, a grimace made in mockery (Juvenal). Gk. σάννας, a buffoon; one who makes grimaces. Seestork’s bill.
sans,without (a French word), As You Like It, ii. 7. 166; Temp. i. 2. 97.
sapa,new wine boiled thick. Middleton, Game at Chess, v. 3. 15. L.sapa(Pliny).
sapor.Sapor Pontic,Sapor Styptic: particular ‘Sapors’, savours frequently mentioned by the alchemists as indicative of the nature or condition of substances under examination. B. Jonson, Alchemist, ii. 1 (Subtle). L.sapor, taste.
sarcocolla,an Eastern gum-resin. Altered tosacrocolla, Middleton, A Fair Quarrel, iv. 2 (Surgeon). Gk. σαρκοκόλλα; the name derived from its power of healing or agglutinating wounds.
sarell,a seraglio. Marlowe, Tamburlaine, iii. 3 (Bajazet). F.sérail, a seraglio; Pers.serāi, a palace (Hatzfeld). See Stanford (s.v. Seraglio).
sarza,sarsaparilla. Bacon, Essay 27, § 2. See Dict.
sasarara,a corruption ofcertiorari, the name of a certain writ at law. Revenger’s Tragedy, iv. 2 (Vindici);sesarara, Puritan Widow, iii. 2. 81. See EDD. (s.v. Siserary), where the word is said to be in prov. use in the sense of a violent scolding; in Devon the phr.with a siserarymeans ‘with a vengeance’ [‘I fell in love all at once with a sisserara’, Sterne, T. Shandy, vi. 47 (Davies).]
sattle,to quiet, reduce to order. Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, xviii. 345; to become calm, ‘I sattyl or sober or appayse my-selfe’, Palsgrave. Cp. ‘sattle’, the north-country word, meaning to put an end to a quarrel, see EDD. (s.v. Sattle, vb.1). ME.sahtlen, to bring to a peaceful agreement, to reconcile (sahhtlennin Ormulum, 351); see Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Sahtlien). OE.sahtlian(Chron. ann. 1066). Etym. doubtful; see NED.
sattle,to sink down gradually. Ascham, Toxophilus, 131. In prov. use in the north country, see EDD. (s.v. Sattle, vb.23). ME.sattle(York Plays, 328);satlynge, a sagging, ‘bassacio’ (Prompt.). See NED. (s.v. Settle, vb., 13).
saturity,repletion. Herrick, Noble Numbers; Lasciviousness, 2;saturitie, Udall, tr. Erasmus, on Matt. v. 6; Warner, Alb. England, bk. v, ch. 24, st. 48. L.saturitas(Pliny).
satyrion,the orchis. Otway, Soldier’s Fortune, v. 5 (Sir Jolly). Gk. σατύριον (Dioscorides). See Alphita, p. 158.
saugh,a ‘sough’, a channel, a trench. Drayton, Pol. iv. 168. ‘Sough’ in various forms is in common prov. use in England from the north country to Bedfordshire, see EDD. (s.v. Sough, sb.2).
saulf,‘safe’. Sir T. Elyot, Governour (ed. Croft, see Glossary). F.saulf, safe (Rabelais). See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Sauf).
saunce-bell;seesance-bell.
sawtry,a ‘psaltery’, a kind of harp. Dryden, Flower and Leaf, 358. ME.sautrye(Chaucer, C. T.A.296).
say,to ‘assay’, to test the fitness of, to try on (clothes); ‘He sayes his sute’, B. Jonson, Staple of News, i. 1 (Fashioner); to set oneself to do something, Peele, Order of the Garter (ed. Dyce, 588); ‘Who sayd to wound faire Venus in the hand’, Heywood, 2nd Pt., Iron Age (NED.). See Dict.
say,‘assay’, temper of metal, proof; ‘A sword of better say’, Spenser, F. Q. vi. 11. 47; a subject for testing, proving, ‘Still living to be wretched To be a say to Fortune in her changes’, Beaumont and Fl., Knt. of the B. Pestle, iv. 4. 11. ‘To say’ for to assay, to test, prove, is in prov. use in Scotland and many parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Say, vb.21).
say:phr.to take the say, to draw the knife along the belly of a slain deer, to find how fat he is. Beaumont and Fl., Philaster, iv. 2. 10. Forassay, B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2 (Marian). See Nares (s.v. Say).
scalado,an escalade, attempt to scale a wall. Bacon, Henry VII (ed. Lumby, p. 165). Span.escalada, ‘an escalade or taking a place with scaling Ladders’ (Stevens). L.scala, a ladder.
scale,to attack with scaling ladders; ‘The citty had bene scaled and sacked’, Greene, Euphues (Wks., ed. Grosart, vi. 220); ‘The hugy heaps of cares . . . are scalèd from their nestling-place’, Peele, Sir Clyomon (Wks., ed. Dyce, iii. 78). Ital. ‘scalare, to ascend by ladder’ (Florio); Span.escalar(Stevens).
scaledrake,‘a sheldrake’. Lady Alimony, ii. 2 (2 Boy). In prov. use in Scotland, Ireland, and the north of England (EDD.).
scall,a scab, blister, an eruption of skin on the head.Bible, Lev. xiii. 30 (printedskall, ed. 1611); ‘Scurfe and dandruffe, running ulcers and scals’, Holland, Pliny, xxiii. 1. In prov. use in Scotland and north of England, see EDD. (s.v. Scall, sb.1). ME.scalle(Chaucer, Minor Poems, viii. 7).
scald,afflicted with the ‘scall’, scurfy; an epithet of contempt, Ant. and Cl. v. 2. 215; Beaumont and Fl., Bloody Brothers, i (Grandpree); Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. I, ii. 1 (Fluello). ME.scalled(Chaucer, C. T.A.627).
scald,afflicted with the ‘scall’, scurfy; an epithet of contempt, Ant. and Cl. v. 2. 215; Beaumont and Fl., Bloody Brothers, i (Grandpree); Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. I, ii. 1 (Fluello). ME.scalled(Chaucer, C. T.A.627).
scamble,to scramble, to struggle. Much Ado, v. 1. 94; Tusser, Husbandry, § 51. 7. Hence,scambling, shambling, shuffling, Ford, Love’s Sacrifice, v. 1 (Bianca); filching, id., Fancies Chaste, i. 3 (Livio). In prov. use in various parts of England (EDD.).
scand,pp., ascended, climbed up to. Spenser, F. Q. vii. 6. 8. L.scandere, to climb.
scantle,to scant, to limit; ‘Her scantled banks’, Drayton, Pol. xxiv. 12; The Owl, 1294; to shorten sail, Greene, Looking Glasse, iv. 1 (1327); p. 134, col. 1.
scantling,limited measure. Bacon, Essay 55; a pattern, sample, Tr. and Cr. i. 3. 341; ‘How Ovid’s scantlings with the whole true patterne doo agree’, Golding, Ovid’s Metam., Epist. 379. ‘Eschantillon, a scantling, sample, pattern, proof of any sort of Merchandise’, Cotgrave. Anglo-F.escauntiloun(Rough List).
scar,a steep bare bank, a cliff. Drayton, Pol. xxvii. 326. In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Scar, sb.1). Icel.sker, an isolated rock in the sea.
scarab,a beetle, dung-beetle; a term of reproach. B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1. 59 (Subtle); Beaumont and Fl., Mad Lover, ii. 2 (Chilax). Gk. σκάραβος, a beetle.
Scarborough warning,very short notice, or no notice at all; a surprise. Heywood, Proverbs (ed. Farmer, 43); Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 345. See Nares, EDD. and NED.
scarlet,a scarlet gown, worn as a mark of dignity; He will be . . . next spring call’d to the scarlet, B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1 (Subtle).
scarmoge,an irregular fight, a ‘skirmish’. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 34. ME.scarmuch(Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. ii. 934), F.escarmouche, a skirmish (Cotgr.); Ital.scaramuccia(Florio).
scartoccio,a roll of paper. B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1 (Vol.). Ital.scartoccio, ‘a coffin of paper for spice, as apothecaries use’ (Florio). Cp.cartoccio, a piece of waste paper to put anything in. F.cartouche, E.cartridge.
scath,harm, hurt, damage. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 5. 18; iii. 4. 24. ME.scathe, harm (Chaucer, C. T.A.446); Icel.skaði.
scatterling,one of a wandering band of outlaws or robbers. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 10. 63.
scaure;seescour.
scerne,to ‘discern’, perceive. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 10. 22.
schellum,a rogue, scoundrel; ‘Where’s the Dutchschellum?’, Dekker, If this be not a good Play (Pluto), Works, iii. 352;skellum, id., Shoemakers’ Holiday, iii. 1 (Firk). ‘Skellum’ is a north-country word (EDD.). Du.schelm, a rogue (Hexham).
sciatherical,concerned with the recording of shadows, esp. on a sundial.Scioferical, Tomkis, Albumazar, i. 7 (Alb.);scioterical, Sir T. Browne, Vulgar Errors, bk. v, c. 18, § 3. From Gk. σκιαθηρικός, from σκαθήρας, a shadow-catcher, sun-dial; from σκιά, shadow, θηρᾶν, to catch.
scole,a scale or dish of a balance. Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xvi. 606; xxii. 180. Icel.skāl, a bowl, the scale of a balance; Dan.skaal, a bowl.
scolopendra,a milliped; one of the numerous nicknames for a courtesan. Shirley, Gamester, ii. 2 (Hazard). L.scolopendra; Gk. σκολόπενδρα, a milliped.
scombre,to void excrements. Maister of Game, c. 13;skommer, Turbervile, Hunting, c. 12; p. 27. Seescumber.
scope,a mark to aim at. Spenser, Shep. Kal., Nov., 155. Gk. σκοπός, a mark.
scorse, scourse,to exchange, barter. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 9. 16; B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, iii. 1 (Waspe); Drayton, Pol. (ed. 1613. p. 196); ‘Barater, to scourse, barter’, Cotgrave; henceskoser, a horse-corser, Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 10 (ed. Croft, i. 63). ‘Scorse’ is in prov. use along the south coast (EDD.). See Notes on Eng. Etym., p. 136.
scot and lot,a tax levied by a municipal corporation in proportionate shares for the defraying of municipal expenses; phr.to pay scot and lot, to pay out thoroughly; ‘Twas time to counterfet, or that hotte Termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot’, 1 Hen. IV, v. 4. 115; B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 7 (Cob). The wordscot= Anglo-F.escot, a payment (Rough List). Seeshot.
scot-free,free from payment of one’s tavern score. B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. iii. 7 (Cob).
scotomy,dimness of sight, caused by dizziness. B. Jonson, Volpone, i. 1 (Mosca); Massinger, Old Law, iii. 2 (Simonides). Gk. σκότωμα, dimness; from σκοτοῦν, to make dim. Gk. σκότος, darkness.
scour,to be purged, to have diarrhoea; ‘He continually scowred’, Repentance of Robert Greene (NED.); ‘Poor young man, how he was bound to scaure for it’, Vanbrugh, The Relapse, v. 3 (Nurse). ‘Scour’ (or ‘Scaur’ in Norfolk) is in prov. use for being afflicted with diarrhoea, see EDD. (s.v. Scour, vb.14).
scour the queer cramp-ring,to wear the prison fetters (Cant). Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song); ‘skower the cramp-rings, weare fetters’, Harman, Caveat, p. 84; ‘quyerkyn(= queer ken), a pryson-house’, ib.
’scourse,fordiscourse; with a quibbling reference toscourseorscorse, to barter. B. Jonson, Tale of a Tub, i. 2 (Pan).
scout,a slang term for a watch, or pocket time-piece; because ascoutis awatchman. Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, ii. 1 (Belfond senior).
scrag,a scraggy creature, lean man. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iii. 606.
scrat,to scratch. Gascoigne, Steel Glas, st. 115; ‘I scratte as a beest dothe that hath sharp nayles,Je gratigne’, Palsgrave. In gen. prov. use in the British Isles (EDD.). ME.scrattyn, or scracchyn (Prompt.); toscratte, ‘scalpere’ (Cath. Angl.).
scratches, the,a disease of horses, in which the pasterns appear as if scratched. B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, ii. 1 (Knockem); ‘Arestin, the scratches in a horses pasterne’, Minsheu, Span. Dict. (1623).
scrawl, scraul,to ‘crawl’. Rare Triumphs of Love and Fortune, i. 1. 15; in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, vi. 146;scraul, Tusser, Husbandry, § 49. 9. See Nares (s.v. Scrall). In gen. prov. use in England (EDD.).
screwed gun,a gun furnished with a screwed barrel, i.e. having a helically grooved bore. Dryden, Marriage a la Mode, v. 1 (Rhodophil). First known in 1646.
scrike,to ‘shriek’. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 4. 18. Swed.skrika, to shriek. In prov. use in various parts of England. See EDD. (s.v. Skrike).
scrimer,a fencer. Hamlet, iv. 7. 101. Cp. ‘scrim’ in prov. use for striking vigorously, ‘scrimmish,’ a skirmish (EDD.). F.escrimeur, ‘a fencer’;escrimer, ‘to fence, or play at fence, also, to lay hard about him’ (Cotgr.). See Dict. (s.v. Skirmish).
scroyle,a scoundrel; a term of contempt. King John, ii. 1. 373; B. Jonson, Every Man in Hum. i. 1 (Stephen). Of obscure origin (NED.). See Notes on Eng. Etym., 263.
scruze,to press out. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 12. 56. A Glouc. word, see EDD. (s.v. Scruse).
scry,to descry, perceive. Spenser, F. Q. v. 12. 38; Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, i. 190. In prov. use in the north country, see EDD. (s.v. Scry, vb.22). Norm. F.escrier, ‘explorer, chercher à découvrir’ (Moisy).
scryne,chest, ark. Spenser, Introd. to F. Q., st. 2. L.scrinium, a box for keeping books, letters, &c.
scull, skull,a ‘school’ of fish, a ‘shoal’. Mirror for Mag., Shore’s Wife, st. 29; Tr. and Cr. v. 5. 22 (ed. 1623); Milton, P. L. vii. 402; a covey of pheasants, Lyly, Mydas, iv. 3 (Petulus); a troop, company, Warner, Albion’s England, bk. i, ch. 6, st. 57. ‘Scull’ is in prov. use in Hants. for a great number of people, see EDD. (s.v. School, sb.22).
scum, skumme,to scour, with respect to land or sea; ‘There were sent forth rydars to skumme the country’, Morte Arthur, leaf 26, back, 30; bk. i, c. 13. F. ‘escumer;escumer la mer, to scowr, as a fleet, the sea’ (Cotgr.);escumeur, ‘corsaire qui fait des courses sur mer, pirate’ (Didot).
scumber,to void excrement, as a dog or fox. ‘Fienter, to dung, scumber’, Cotgrave; ‘When they (hounds) are led out of their kennels to scumber’, Massinger, Picture, v. 1 (Ricardo). Used in Cornwall of a bird (EDD.). OF.escombrer, to clean out (Godefroy). Seebescumber,scombre.
scur;seeskirr.
scurer,a scout, one sent forward to reconnoitre. Mirror for Mag., Guidericus, st. 36; ‘Out was our scurer sent agayn . . . to shew wher aboute the place was’, More, Comfort ag. Tribulation (Wks., p. 1181). OF.descouvreur, ‘espion, qui va à la découverte’ (Didot); Med. L.disco-operator(Ducange).
scurrile,scurrilous, vulgarly witty. Tr. and Cr. i. 3. 148; Two Noble Kinsmen, v. 1. 153. L.scurrilis, buffoon-like; fromscurra, a buffoon.
scut,a hare. Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 632. ME.scut, a hare (Prompt.).
scute,a coin of small value. Chapman, All Fools, v. 1 (Valerio). In prov. use from Dorset to Cornwall for a sum of money, see EDD. (s.v. Scute, sb.1). Properly an E. name for the French coin calledėcu, OF.escut, L.scutum, a shield.
sdayn,to disdain. Spenser, F. Q. v. 5. 44.
sea-card,the card on which the points of the compass were marked. Fletcher, The Chances, i. 10 (near the end). Seecard.
sea-holm,sea-holly. Drayton, Pol. i. 125. Cp.holm-oak; and seeeringo.
seam,fat, grease. Tr. and Cr. ii. 3. 195; Dryden, tr. Aeneid, vii. 867. In gen. prov. use in the British Isles, see EDD. (s.v. Saim). ME.seim, grease (Ancr. R. 412). Anglo-F.saim, ‘adeps’ (Ps. lxii. 6), cp. Ital.saime, O. Prov.sagin(saīn), ‘graisse’ (Levy), Med. L.sagimen, ‘adeps, sagina’ (Ducange).
searce, searse,to sift through a sieve. Webster, Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1 (Ariosto). ‘Searce’ was formerly a widely spread prov. word for a fine sieve; as a vb. ‘to sift’ it still appears in Northumbrian and Kentish Glosses (EDD.). ME.sarce, a sieve (Prompt.);sarcyn, to sift (id., EETS. 450; see notes, no. 1875 and no. 2204). OF.saas(F.sas), a sieve. Span.cedazo, Med. L.setatium(Ducange), der. of L.seta,saeta, a bristle.
sear-cloth,to cover with ‘cere-cloth’ or waxed cloth. Dryden, Annus Mirab. 148. Seecere-cloth.
season upon(oron), to seize upon. Mirror for Mag., Northumberland, st. 15; ‘I season upon a thynge as a hauke doth,je assaysonne. She saysouned upon the fesante at the first flyght’, Palsgrave; ‘It is mete for any lyon . . . to season his pawes upon his pray’, Acolastus, ii. 3. See NED. (s.v. Season, vb. 5).
sect,a class or kind of persons, used with reference to sex, 2 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 41; Fletcher, Valentinian, i. 1 (Chilax); Middleton, Mad World, ii. 6. In prov. use in various parts of England; also in illiterate use in London; see EDD. and NED. Cp. Chaucer, ‘(The wife of Bath) and al hire secte’ (C. T.E.1171). L.secta, a following, a school or sect of philosophy.
sectary,one who belongs to a sect, a dissenter. Hen. VIII, v. 3. 70; Puritan Widow, i. 2. 5. F.sectaire, ‘a sectary, follower of a sect’ (Cotgr.).
sectour,executor. Udall, Roister Doister, iii. 3. 62; ‘Sectour,executeur’, Palsgrave. ME.sectour, ‘exequitour’ (Cath. Angl.);seketowre, ‘executor’ (Prompt., Harl. MS.).
Sedgeley curse,an imprecation recorded by Ray among the proverbs of Staffordshire. It is given by Beaumont and Fl. in this form: ‘A Sedgly curse light on him, which is, Pedro, The fiend ride through him booted and spurred, With a scythe at his back!’, Tamer Tamed, v. 2; Massinger, City Madam, ii. 2 (Plenty). See Nares.
see,a seat of dignity or authority, a throne; ‘Jove laught on Venus from his soveraigne see’, Spenser, F. Q. iii. 6. 2; the dwelling-place of a monarch, F. Q. iv. 10. 30.
see,pret. s.(I) saw, (he) saw, Greene, Sonnet, l. 4 (ed. Dyce, 292). Still in prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. See, 1 (6)). OE.seah, pt. t. ofsēon, to see.
seek:phr.to blow a seek, to sound notes on a horn, summoning hounds to the chase of a deer. Gascoigne, Art of Venerie (ed. Hazlitt, i. 314).
seek:phr.to seek, at a loss, badly off; ‘The Merchant will be to seeke for Money’, Bacon, Essay 41, § 4; B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, ii. 2. Cp. Porson’s famous epigram in Museum Criticum, i. 332, ‘The Germans in Greek, Are sadly to seek’, &c. See NED. (s.v. Seek, vb. 20 b).
seel,to close up a bird’s eyelids, by means of a thread passed through them.A seeled dove, ‘She brought them to a seeled dove, who the blinder she was, the higher she strave’, Sidney, Arcadia (ed. Sommer, 65); Bacon, Essay 36. It was believed that a seeled dove would mount always higher aloft, till it sank from exhaustion; see Ford, Broken Heart, ii. 2. 3. Palsgrave has: ‘I cele a hauke,Ie cile.’ F.ciller, ‘to seele, or sow up the eyelids’ (Cotgr.);cil, an eyelash, L.cilium, an eyelid, eyelash.
seeld,seldom, Mirror for Mag., Salisbury, st. 20. Seeseld.
seeling,a wainscot, wainscoting. Bacon, Essay 54; ceiling, North, tr. of Plutarch, Octavius, § 4 (in Shak. Plut. p. 238).
seemless,unseemly. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 25; Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, xx. 397.
seemlyhed,comeliness. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 8. 14.
seen,equipped, furnished; versed, practised; ‘Seen in many things’, Heywood, A Woman killed, ii. 1 (Frankford);well seen, Tam. Shrew, i. 2. 136; Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, bk. i, c. 8 (p. 37). In prov. use (EDD.).
sege,a seat. Morte Arthur, leaf 220. 7; bk. x, c. 16. ME.sege: ‘He schal sitte on the sege of his maieste’ (Wyclif, Matt. xxv. 31). Anglo-F.sege, seat (Ps. lxxxviii. 14), O. Prov.setge, ‘siège, banc, séance, siège d’une ville’ (Levy). Seesiege.
seggs,sedges. Kyd, Cornelia, iii. 3. 15. A Northern form (EDD.).
Seisactheia,an ordinance of Solon by which all debts were lowered. Massinger, Old Law, i. 1 (2 Lawyer). Gk. σεισάχθεια, a shaking off of burdens.
selago,a plant. Middleton, The Witch, iii. 3 (Hecate). L.selago, a plant resembling the savin-tree.
selar,a canopy of a bed; ‘The selar of the bedde’, Morte Arthur, leaf 349, back, 24; bk. xvii, c. 6. ‘Cellar for a bed,ciel de lit’, Palsgrave. See NED. (s.v. Celure).
selcouth,strange, uncommon. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 8. 14. A Scottish poetical word (EDD.). ME.selcouth, strange, wonderful (P. Plowman, C. i. 5); OE.seldcūð, strange, lit. seldom known.
seld,seldom. Tr. and Cr. iv. 5. 150; henceseld-shown, seldom shown, Coriolanus, ii. 1. 229;seld-seen, Humour out of Breath, i. 1 (Octavio); as adj. rare, scarce, Tourneur, Revenger’s Tragedy, iv. 4. ME.seld(selde), seldom (Chaucer, C. T.B.2343). Seeseeld.
sellary,a male prostitute. B. Jonson, Sejanus, iv. 5 (Arruntius). L.sellarius(Tacitus).
sely,harmless; ‘A selye innocente hare murdered of a dogge’, More’s Utopia (ed. Lumby, p. 111). Also, poor, helpless, Tusser, Husbandry, § 51. 18. ME.sely, simple, innocent, also, poor, pitiable (Chaucer); but Chaucer uses the word also in other senses: good, holy, happy. See Trench, Select Glossary (s.v. Silly). Seesilly.
semblably,similarly. 1 Hen. IV, v. 3. 21. F.semblable, like. F.sembler, to seem, resemble.
semblant,demeanour. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 10. 31; Morte Arthur, bk. ii, c. 17;to make semblant(= F.faire semblant), to make a show, appearance, or pretence (of doing something), id., bk. vii, c. 8.
seminary,an Englishman educated as a Popish priest in a foreign seminary. B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, ii. 1 (Overdo).
semitary,a form of scimetar. B. Jonson, Case is altered, v. 2 (Juniper);semitarie, Peele, Battle of Alcazar, i. 2 (Moor). Seecemitare.
sempster,a sempstress; also a spinster, as applied to the three Fates, Dekker, O. Fortunatus, ii. 2 (Shadow). In prov. use in Yorks. and Derbyshire, see EDD. (s.v. Seamster). ME.semster(Dest. Troy, 1585), OE.sēamestre, a sempstress (B. T.).
sennet,a signal-call played on a trumpet, the signal for entrance or exit. Common in the stage-directions in the Tudor drama. It occurs in various forms, such assynnet,sinet,cynet,signate. Hen. VIII, ii. 4; J. Caesar, i. 2; Ant. and Cl. ii. 7; Coriol. ii. 1; 2 Hen. VI, iii. 1. O. Prov.senhet(signet), ‘signe’ (Levy), OF.sinet(Littré). See Notes on Eng. Etym., p. 264.
sensing,‘incensing’, use of incense. Latimer, Sermon on the Ploughers (ed. Arber, p. 30). ME.censynge, ‘turificacio’ (Prompt.).
sent,perception. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 43. The old spelling ofscent; so in Cotgrave, ‘Odeur, sent, smell’.
sere,separate, distinct, each in particular. Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, 107). ME.ser, distinct, each in particular (Ormin, 18653). Icel.sér, orig. dat. of refl. pron. ‘for oneself’, hence as adv. separately.
sere,the claw or talon of a bird or beast of prey. Usually in the pl.seres; Chapman, tr. of Iliad, viii. 212; xii. 213; Odyssey, ii. 238; Revenge of Bussy, iii. 1 (Clermont); Byron’s Tragedy, iii. 1. 16. F.serre, a hawk’s talon (Cotgr.).
sere,the catch in a gun-lock which is released by the trigger. Hamlet, ii. 2. 337 (see note by W. Aldis Wright). It was like a claw. See above.
serene,a chill evening air; ‘Some serene blast me’, B. Jonson, Volpone, iii. 5 (Celia); Epigrams, xxxii (last line). F.serein, ‘the mildew, or harmful dew of some summer evenings’ (Cotgr.). Ital. ‘sereno, the night calm;serenata, music played in a clear evening’ (Florio).
sericon,the name of some chemical substance. B. Jonson, Alchem. ii. 1 (Subtle). See NED.
serpentin,a kind of cannon. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 124; l. 159; ‘Serpentine, the artillery called a Serpentine or Basiliskoe’, Cotgrave.
serpigo,a general term for creeping or spreading skin diseases, esp. ringworm, Meas. for M. iii. 1. 31 (variously spelt in the edd.). Medical L.serpigo, ‘teter’ (Alphita, 167), deriv. ofserpere, to creep.
servant,a professed lover, one who is devoted to the service of a lady. Two Gent. of Verona, ii. 1. 106, 114, 140. Very common. Cp. Ital.cavaliere servente; see Fanfani.
servulate,to serve obsequiously. Beaumont and Fl., Elder Brother, i. 2 (Egremont). From L.servulus, dimin. of servus, a slave.
sesama,oil from the seeds of a plant, sesame, one of the ingredients of a perfume. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, v. 2 (Perfumer). Gk. σησάμη.
sesarara;seesasarara.
sess, seiss,to assess. Pt. t.sessyd, Fabyan, Chron., p. vii, ann. 1257-8 (ed. Ellis, p. 344); pp.seissed, North, tr. of Plutarch, Antonius, § 33 (in Shak. Plut., p. 204). In prov. use (EDD.).
set out the throat,to set up a noise, cry out. B. Jonson, Alchem. v. 2 (Face); Middleton, Blurt, Mr. Constable, ii. 1 (Hippolito).
setter,a confederate of sharpers or swindlers, employed as a decoy (Cant). Nashe, Strange Newes, 1592; see Aydelotte, p. 86; Butler, Hud., Lady’s Answer, 153. One who marks down travellers to be robbed by thieves, 1 Hen. IV, ii. 2. 53.
settle,a long bench, with a very high back. Albumazar, i. 1 (Ronca). In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Settle, sb.2).
setwall,the East Indian plant zedoary, Palsgrave; the plant valerian, ‘Drink-quickning Setwale’, Spenser, Muiopotmos, 196; spelt cetywall, Drayton, Ballad of Dowsabell, 33 (in later editionssetywall). ME.setwaleorsedwale, ‘zedoarium’ (Prompt.);cetewale(Chaucer, C. T.A.3207). O. Span.cetoal,sitoval,cedoaria; of Arabic origin, see Dozy, Glossaire, 251.
sew,to follow; ‘Seven kings sewen me’, World and Child, in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 248; to sue, to plead, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 12. 29; to woo, id., iii. 5. 47. See Dict. (s.v. Sue).
sew,to drain dry; ‘To drain and sew’, North, tr. of Plutarch, Jul. Caesar, § 39 (in Shak. Plut., p. 93); Tusser, Husbandry, 32. In prov. use in E. Anglia, Kent, Sussex, and Dorset, see EDD. (s.v. Sew, vb.2). OF.esuer(Burguy); F.essuier, to dry up (Cotgr.);essuier, ‘évier, conduit par lequel s’écoulent les eaux sales d’une cuisine’ (Didot). See Hatzfeld (s.v. Essuyer).
sewell;seeshewelle.
sewer,an attendant at a meal who superintended the seating of the guests, and the tasting and serving of the dishes. Macbeth, i. 7, Stage Direction. ME.sewerat the mete, ‘depositor, discoforus’ (Cath. Angl.);sewareat mete, ‘dapifer’ (Prompt.). OF.asseour, ‘en parlant du service de la table,qui fait asseoir’ (Godefroy), Pop. L.assedatorem(acc.), one who sets, places, deriv. ofassedare, to set, place, cp. Norm. F.aseer, to place; see Moisy.
sextile,denoting the aspect or relative position of two planets, when distant from each other by sixty degrees; a sextile aspect. Fletcher, Bloody Brother, iv. 2 (Norbret); Randolph, Jealous Lovers, v. 2; Milton, P. L. x. 659.
seymy,greasy. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 124; l. 169. Seeseam.
sforzato,a galley-slave. B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1 (Vol.). Ital. ‘sforzati, galley-slaves, as forced to do anything’ (Florio), cp. F. ‘forçat, galley-slave’ (Cotgr.).
shack,the shaken grain which remains on the fields after harvesting; henceshack-time, the time during which this grain remains on the ground, Tusser, Husbandry, § 16. 30;to shack, to turn pigs or poultry into the stubble fields. In prov. use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Shake, 9, 20, 21).
†shackatory,apparently, a huntsman’s underling. Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, iii. 1 (Orlando). See NED.
shadow,a reflection in water; ‘Aesop had a foolish dog that let go the flesh to catch the shadow’, Webster, White Devil (Flamineo), ed. Dyce, p. 37; a disguise, Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, ii. 1 (Hempskirke); a friend of an invited guest (L.umbra), Massinger, Unnat. Combat, iii. 1. 11.
shaft,a May-pole, esp. the May-pole in Aldgate ward, London, which ‘shaft’, when it was set on end and fixed to the ground, was higher than the steeple of the church, which was hence called St. Andrew Undershaft. This ‘shaft’ was not raised after May-day, 1517, on account of a disturbance of the apprentices. Thirty-two years after it was sawn in pieces and burned as an idol. Stow, Survey (ed. Thoms, 54); Pennant’s London, 587. See Nares (s.v. Shaft), and Chambers, Book of Days, p. 574.
shaftman,a measure of about six inches, being the length from the top of the extended thumb to the wrist-side of the palm. Harington, tr. Ariosto, xxxvi. 56;shaftmon, Morte Arthur, leaf 124, back, 8; bk. vii, c. 22;shaftmont, ‘His leg was scarce a shaftmont lang’, Child’s Pop. Ballads, ii. 330;shaftement, Ascham, Toxophilus, p. 112. ‘Shaftment’ is in prov. use in the north country (EDD.). ME.schaftmonde(Death of Arthur, 2546, 3843, 4232); OE.sceaftmund, a palm’s length (B. T.). See NED. (s.v. Shaftment).
shag-rag,ragged, vagabond-like; ‘A shag-rag knave’, Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv. 5 (Barabas). The word ‘shag-rag’ is in prov. use in the north country to denote an idle, ragged vagabond, see EDD. (s.v. Shag, vb.32 (2)). Seeshake-rag.
†shailes,scarecrows. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 23, § 2; see Croft’s note. Perhaps cognate with ME.schey, shy, timid (Prompt.). Seeshewelle.
shake-rag,a ragged disreputable person, Brome, Jovial Crew, iii. (NED.). [‘He was a shake-rag like fellow’, Scott, Guy Man., xxvi.] Alsoshake, Middleton, The Widow, ii. 1 (1 Suitor).
shake the elbow,to throw dice, to gamble. Webster, Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1 (Ariosto).
shaking of the sheets,the name of an old dance, usually mentioned with an indecent suggestion. Westward Ho, v. 3.
shale,a shell, husk. Hen. V, iv. 2. 18; Parliament of Bees, character 5 (end). ME.shale(Chaucer), OE.scealu, a husk.
shale,to shell, take of the husk; ‘I shale peasen’, Palsgrave; ‘A little lad set on a bancke to shale the ripen’d nuts’, W. Browne, Brit. Pastorals, bk. ii, song 4. In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Shale, vb.114). ME.shale, notys or odyr frute, ‘enucleo’ (Prompt. EETS. 451). Cp. F.eschaller: ‘eschalleur de noys, qui écale des noix’ (Glossaire, Rabelais, ii. 160).
shale,to shamble with the feet; ‘Esgrailler, to shale or straddle with the legs’, Cotgrave. In prov. use in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Shale, vb.2). Seeshayle.
shalla,forshall he; ‘Shalla go In deede? and shalla flowte me thus?,’ Phaer, Aeneid iv, 590, 591.Aforheis common in prov. use when unemphatic, see EDD. (s.v. He, 1 (1)).
sham,to take in, to hoax; ‘You shammed me all night long . . .Freeman. Shamming is telling you an insipid, dull lye, with a dull face, which the sly wag the author only laughs at himself; and, making himself believe ’tis a good jest, puts the sham only upon himself, Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii. Cp. Sc.sham, to cheat, trick, deceive, see EDD. (s.v. Sham, vb.11).
shamois,shoes made of the wild goat’s skin. Webster, White Devil (Flamineo), ed. Dyce, p. 19.
shape,the costume suited to a particular part in a play. Massinger, Bondman, v. 3 (Pisander).
shard,a fragment, a piece of broken pottery, a potsherd; ‘Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her’, Hamlet, v. 1. 254. In prov. use in the sense of a broken piece in Scotland and in the various parts of England (EDD.). ME.scherde, ‘testula’ (Prompt. EETS.), OE.sceard, ‘testa’ (B. T.).
shard,a patch of cow-dung; ‘They are his shards, and he their beetle’, Ant. and Cl. iii. 2. 19; ‘Such souls as shards produce, such beetle things As only buz to heaven with ev’ning wings’, Dryden, Hind and P. i. 321; ‘The shard-borne beetle’ (the beetle born in dung), Macbeth, iii. 2. 42. ‘Shard,’ meaning a patch of cow-dung, is in prov. use in Yorks. and Wilts. (EDD.). Probably related to ‘sharn’ in prov. use for dung of cattle; OE.scearn(Leechdoms); see EDD.
shard.In Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 38, ‘When late he far’d In Phaedrias flitt barke over that perlous shard.’ Spenser appears to use ‘shard’ here in the sense of ‘a channel’. It is probably the same word as ‘shard’ in prov. use for an incision, a gap, a narrow passage, see EDD. (s.v. Shard, sb.21, 2, 3). OE.sceard, a gap, notch; the word is used for bays and creeks in Boethius, 18. 1.
shark,to prowl about to pick up a living. Beaumont and Fl., Honest Man’s Fortune, iii. 3 (Mallicorn); Earle, Micro-Cosmographie, no. 77 (ed. Arber, 35);shark on, to prey upon, Sir Thos. More, ii. 4. 106;shark up, to pick up by prowling about, Hamlet, i. 1. 98. Henceshark-gull, a cheat who preys upon simpletons, Middleton, The Black Book (ed. Dyce, v. 524).
sharp.To fight at sharp, to fight with sharp weapons, not with foils, Beaumont and Fl., Nice Valour, v. 3 (Galoshio).
shayle,to shamble, to walk crookedly or awkwardly. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 20, l. 19; p. 214, l. 172. Palsgrave has: ‘I shayle, as a man or horse dothe that gothe croked with his legges,Ie vas eschays.’ ME.schaylyn, ‘disgredior’ (Prompt. EETS. 451). Seeshaleandshoyle.
sheal,to take off the outer covering of peas, King Lear, i. 4. 219. In prov. use in Scotland and in various parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Sheal, vb.21).
sheath;seepainted.
sheene,fair, beautiful to behold. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 10; ii. 2. 40; ii. 10. 8; ‘Haill May, haill Flora, haill Aurora schene!’, Dunbar, Thrissill, 9; as sb., fairness, splendour, Hamlet, iii. 2. 167. ME.shene, fair, beautiful (Chaucer, C. T.A.972). OE.scēne,scȳne,scīene, fair, identical with G.schön, beautiful, Goth.skauns.
sheerly,entirely. Fletcher, Mad Lover, v. 4 (Memnon). A Scotch word, used by Burns, Ep. to Major Logan (EDD.).
sheeve,a slice; ‘A sheeve of bread’, Warner, Alb. England, bk. iv, ch. 20, st. 29. In prov. use in Scotland and Lanc., see EDD. (s.v. Sheave). Seeshive.
shelf,a sandbank. B. Jonson, The Forest, iii (l. 12 from end);shelves, pl., 3 Hen. VI, v. 4. 23; ‘On the tawny sands and shelves Trip the pert faeries’, Milton, Comus, 117. For Scotch exx. see EDD. (s.v. Shelf, sb.2).
shell,a cockle-shell worn in the hat by pilgrims to Compostella. Heywood, Four Prentises (Godfrey), vol. ii, p. 213.
shells,a cant term for money. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (2 Cutpurse); Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, iii. 2 (Matheo).
shend,to put to shame, blame, reproach. Spenser, Prothalamion, 121;shent, pp., F. Q. ii. 5. 5; vi. 6. 18. In prov. use in Scotland and in Kent (EDD.). ME.shende, to render contemptible (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. v. 893);schende, to blame, reproach (Wyclif, Ps. cxviii. 31). OE.scendan.