sheern.1
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ Nautical.
1.
a. An abrupt divergence or deviation of a vessel from the line of her course; a swerve.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > tendency to go off course > swerving or deviation
yaw1546
yawinga1614
sheering1627
veeringa1682
sheer1694
sheer-off1808
1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 61 I was in danger of running the Ship against steep Rocks..she taking a shear with the Tide.
1726 Philos. Trans. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 425 A Ship before the Wind will deviate from her true Course, sometimes one Way, sometimes another, in her Yaws and Sheers.
1827 J. F. Cooper Prairie II. xvi. 254 Just give the boat a sheer towards yonder low, sandy point.
1849 W. S. Mayo Kaloolah (1850) i. 14 The steersman was directed to put the helm up, in order to give her a sheer out of the way.
1897 Times 25 Feb. 11 The heavy sheers which such a [rudderless] vessel would take in being towed.
b. sheer-off: an act of sheering off (see sheer v.2 1).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > tendency to go off course > swerving or deviation
yaw1546
yawinga1614
sheering1627
veeringa1682
sheer1694
sheer-off1808
1808 Naval Chron. 20 450 This caused such great confusion among them that they got their grapplings unhooked, and took a broad sheer-off.
2. An oblique position given to or taken by a vessel when under way or when riding at single anchor. to break her sheer: of a vessel, to be forced by change of wind or current out of the position of sheer in which she was placed.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > swing (in specific way) at anchor
twive1576
to wind up1633
tend1769
to break her sheer1794
tail1849
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > tendency to go off course > swerving or deviation > oblique position
sheer1794
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship II. 247* To break her sheer.
a1797 H. Taylor in Encycl. Brit. XVII. 370/2 If laying in the aforesaid position, and she breaks her sheer..[and] recovers.., let the main-yard be again braced about; but if she comes to a sheer the other way..brace the fore~yard to.
1865 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 465 To prevent this, an able master will endeavour to make his vessel ‘lie with a sheer’.
1865 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 465 Great care is required in watching the vessel in this position, lest it should fall off or ‘break its sheer’.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. (at cited word)
Compounds
sheer-boom n. Lumbering a boom to catch floating logs and turn them in the desired direction. sheer-line n. in military bridges, the stretched hawser of a flying bridge along which the boat passes.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > engine of war > [noun] > bridge > constructed of boats, rafts, or pontoons > cable of
sheer-line1816
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > bridge > temporary, consisting of moored boat > hawser of
sheer-line1816
the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > transport of logs > string of logs on river
boom1702
boom fence1848
boom-stick1850
sheer-boom1875
string1878
brail1879
jam-boom1879
boom timber1883
boom log1945
1816 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges ii. 44 A cable, or sheer line.., is stretched across the river.
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Sheer-boom.
1879 Lumberman's Gaz. 1 Oct. A row of piers to which they have attached a sheer-boom 2,500 feet long.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sheern.2
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ Nautical.
1. The fore-and-aft upward curvature or rise of the deck or bulwarks of a vessel; the curve of the upper line of a vessel as shown in vertical section. straight or little sheer, a hardly noticeable rise at the bow and stern. quick, high, or great sheer: a sheer with small radius of curvature.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > upwards curvature
hance1637
sheer1691
sny1711
spring1799
1691 W. Petty Treat. Naval Philos. in T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 121 The section of..the whole Ship..included between the Plank-sheering, and the Keels, the upper line of which section is called the Sheer of the Ship.
1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 50 The quicker the Sheer is the more it contributes to the strength of the ship.
1779 W. Barnard in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 101 I found her perfectly upright, and her shere (or side appearance) the same as when first built.
1833 T. Richardson Mercantile Marine Archit. 1 They likewise should have more sheer in proportion to their length than larger vessels.
1878 N. H. Bishop Voy. Paper Canoe 105 Her great sheer, full bow, and smoothness of hull..kept her from swamping.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 Sept. 2/1 Boats with a high sheer at each end.
1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. ii. 41 The considerable sheer (or curve upwards) given to their ends.
2. = sheer-strake n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > each continuous line of planking > uppermost
walec1330
wale-stock1350
gunwale1466
port-last1612
planeshearc1620
planksheeringa1687
portoise1705
wale-piece1739
sheer-strake1805
sheer-wale1805
planksheer1827
sheer1841
covering-board1846
wale-streak1856
waling-piece1909
1841 R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 123 Sheer or Sheer-strake.
1889 R. Dowling Isle of Surrey II. xii. 235 His heels, driven by the force of the tide on the sheer of the boat.
Compounds
sheer-batten n. (a) see quot. 1867; (b) in ship-building, ‘a strip nailed to the ribs to indicate the position of the wales or bends preparatory to those planks being bolted on’ (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. 1875).
ΚΠ
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Sheer-batten, a batten stretched horizontally along the shrouds, and seized firmly above each of their dead-eyes, serving to prevent the dead-eyes from turning at that part.
sheer-built adj. built with (little, great, etc.) sheer.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [adjective] > having specific sheer
sheer-built1883
1883 L. Z. Joncas Fisheries Canada 11 The boats..are very sheer built, and the clinker work is usually of cedar.
sheer-draught n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > lines, sections, or elevations
middle line?c1400
sweep1627
lines1680
touch1711
waterline1750
station1754
sheer-draught1769
body plan1781
sheer-line1797
sheer-plan1797
touchline1797
water plane1798
centreline1806
buttock line1816
crown1830
scrieve1830
top-breadth line1846
wave-line1846
floor-plan1867
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Architecture The whole length of the ship is represented according to a side view, perpendicular to the keel, and is termed the plane of elevation, or sheer-draught.
1830 F. Marryat King's Own III. ix. 170 The dimensions..I knew by the sheer-draught.
Categories »
sheer-draft n. the sheer-plan.
sheer-line n. the line of elevation of a ship's deck.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > lines, sections, or elevations
middle line?c1400
sweep1627
lines1680
touch1711
waterline1750
station1754
sheer-draught1769
body plan1781
sheer-line1797
sheer-plan1797
touchline1797
water plane1798
centreline1806
buttock line1816
crown1830
scrieve1830
top-breadth line1846
wave-line1846
floor-plan1867
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 383/2 When it is in its proper position, the line WF will be in the same plane with the sheer line.
sheer-mould n. (see also quot. 1846).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > mould
moulda1647
reconciler1805
stem-mould1830
sheer-mould1846
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. 245 Ram-line,..a small rope..for forming the sheer of the ship:..adjusted on the ship's side by means of a long thin plank, called the sheer~mould.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Sheer-mould, synonymous with ram-line.
sheer-plan n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > lines, sections, or elevations
middle line?c1400
sweep1627
lines1680
touch1711
waterline1750
station1754
sheer-draught1769
body plan1781
sheer-line1797
sheer-plan1797
touchline1797
water plane1798
centreline1806
buttock line1816
crown1830
scrieve1830
top-breadth line1846
wave-line1846
floor-plan1867
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 377/2 The sheer plan or draught, otherwise called the plan of elevation, is that section of the ship which is made by a vertical plane passing through the keel.
1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 575/1 [article Yachting] The ‘sheer plan’ or longitudinal elevation, showing the lines of length from stem to stern, that is to say, the sheer-line, water-lines, line of keel, and lines of height from keel to gunwale.
sheer-rail n. (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > rails or mouldings > at sides
lee-rail1513
waist1667
sheer-rail1769
rough-tree rail1780
foot rail1781
waist-rail1804
side rail1903
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Rails They are likewise nailed upon several planks along the side; one in particular is called the sheer-rail, which limits the height of the side from the forecastle to the quarter-deck, and runs aft to the stern, and forward to the cat-head.
1846 A. Young Naut. Dict. Sheer-rails, a name for the mouldings round a vessel's top sides.
sheer-strake n. the uppermost strake of the side planking or plating of a vessel, also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > each continuous line of planking > uppermost
walec1330
wale-stock1350
gunwale1466
port-last1612
planeshearc1620
planksheeringa1687
portoise1705
wale-piece1739
sheer-strake1805
sheer-wale1805
planksheer1827
sheer1841
covering-board1846
wale-streak1856
waling-piece1909
1805 Shipwright's Vade-mecum 130 Sheer-strake.
1874 S. J. P. Thearle Naval Archit. (new ed.) I. 102 Sheer strakes are the strakes of the plating (generally outer) which are adjacent to the principal decks.
1882 Daily Tel. 4 May A vessel whose sheer-strake plate is half above and half below the line of main-deck beams.
sheer-wale n. = sheer-strake n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > each continuous line of planking > uppermost
walec1330
wale-stock1350
gunwale1466
port-last1612
planeshearc1620
planksheeringa1687
portoise1705
wale-piece1739
sheer-strake1805
sheer-wale1805
planksheer1827
sheer1841
covering-board1846
wale-streak1856
waling-piece1909
1805 Shipwright's Vade-mecum 130 Sheer-wales or Middle-wales, those strakes of thick stuff in the topside of three-decked ships which are wrought between the middle and lower deck ports.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
sheeradj.adv.
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ A. adj.† 1. Exempt, free (from service or fealty); clear, acquitted (from guilt or crime). Obsolete.† 2. Of the wind: ? Blowing steadily in one direction. (Cf. A. 9) Obsolete.† 3. Of hair: Thin, sparse. Obsolete.† 4. Of light: Bright, shining. Of water, crystal, etc.: Clear and pure; translucent. Obsolete.† 5. Of an article of food: Thin, not containing much substance. Of an animal: Lean. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > [adjective]
freeOE
sheerc1275
shentc1400
immunec1460
exempt1471
illiablea1657
exempted1726
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > justification > [adjective] > exculpated
sheerc1275
whitewashed1700
exculpate1814
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6364 Heo..habbeð iqueðen us scere. nu & auere-mare.
14.. T. Chestre Launfal 429 Fyfty delyverede prysouns, And made ham quyt and schere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > constant in direction and force
sheerc1290
steady1612
frank1628
true1699
pirring1827
c1290 St. Michael 25 in S. Eng. Leg. 300 Nov was þat a wonder Arewe, and wonder wei heo souȝte..A wonder schere-wynd heo was on.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [adjective] > thin, lank
sheerc1400
slank1668
flaggish1669
scratchy1820
stringy1956
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxiii. 252 Alle the Tartarienes han smale Eyen and litille of Berd, and not thikke hered, but schiere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > [adjective]
shireOE
brightOE
through-shineOE
cleanc1040
cleara1400
transparent1413
crystalc1425
crystallinec1425
crystal-clear?a1439
pure1481
perspicuatea1500
beryl1508
through-shining1526
diaphane1561
thorough-seeable1562
pellucid1563
sheer1565
translucent1568
liquid1590
tralucent?1592
perspicuous1599
thorough light1601
diaphanic1614
diaphanous1614
perspicable1615
translucid1615
diaphanal1616
lucid1620
diaphaned1626
transpicuous1638
perlucid1647
dioptrical1760
dioptric1801
unconcealing1804
see-through1851
pellucent1886
pool-clear1924
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [adjective] > bright
shininga900
lighteOE
lightlyOE
sheenOE
torhtOE
shirea1000
steepa1000
shimmeringc1000
brightOE
strongOE
clear1297
fair?a1300
bright-shininga1387
merrya1393
skirea1400
lucident14..
shimc1400
staringc1400
luculentc1420
splendent1474
illuminousc1485
lucentc1500
bloominga1522
sheer1565
prelucent1568
faculent1575
splendant1578
lucid1591
neat1591
shine1596
translucent1596
well-lighted1606
nitid1615
lucible1623
dilucid1653
translucid1657
hard1660
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iv. f. 5 The water was so pure and sheere a man might well haue seene And nombred all the grauell stones that in the bottom beene.
a1568 Bannatyne MS (Hunterian Club) 728 Phebus..Vnto the eist schutand his shaftis schare.
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Ddiij v The Chrisolites & gems whereof did geue a sheere and shining light.
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xv. 274 The Soule is either a sheere body and of the nature of the Skye [Fr. vn corps luisant et ætheré],..or els a bodilesse substance.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xliv. xxxiii. 1191 Afterward they began to yeeld sheere and cleere water in great aboundance.
1871 D. G. Rossetti My Sister's Sleep iv Without, there was a cold moon up, Of winter radiance sheer and thin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > [adjective] > thin or weak
poor1539
unwight1570
sheer1632
scammel1658
rangy1857
wastrel1880
the world > food and drink > food > consistency of food > [adjective] > thin
sheer1632
1632 Guillim's Display of Heraldrie (ed. 2) iii. xxiii. 241 The Moone is the naturall and secondary cause, that the crabbes of the Sea are either full and plumme, or else sheare and (after a sort) empty.
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 39 The Dutch Tumbler is much of the same make, but larger,..not unlike a very sheer Dragoon.
1756 Philos. Trans. 1755 (Royal Soc.) 49 342 The skimmed milk is very thin and sheer.
6.
a. Of textile fabrics, etc.: Thin, fine, diaphanous. Chiefly U.S. (except of stockings). [Compare German schier, noun, ‘cobweb lawn’.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [adjective] > thin, light, or delicate
lightc1230
small1473
cypress1530
sheer1565
sleazy1670
zephyr1809
slim1813
arachnean1854
spring weight1869
chiffon1890
frothy1901
1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis iv. f. 7 And yet with sheere and velume wynges [L. perlucentibus alis] they hoouer from the ground.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 111 Cocke-webbe-Lawne or Tiffeny is the sheirest and cheapest lawne of all.
1706 in J. O. Halliwell Some Acct. Coll. Bills (1852) 31 Shear muslins fit for head dresses and neckcloths.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xi. 125 They manufacture..in Calicoes coarse and fine, sheer and close wrought.
1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms Sheer,..applied..to fabrics of cotton or silk; as, sheer muslin; meaning very thin, clear, or transparent.
1904 Daily Chron. 22 Apr. 8/1 So fine (the American girl would say ‘sheer’) is the batiste or lawn used that a slip lining is necessary.
1911 E. M. Clowes On Wallaby viii. 225 America seems to have taken to fashioning her literature with a crimping-iron and ‘sheer-lawn’, while Australia hacks hers out with a billyhook from back-block and Bush.
1934 A. Woollcott While Rome Burns 284 Ravishing French peasant girls with high heels, sheer stockings, and a disposition to say ‘Ooh, la la’ at appropriate intervals.
1947 Chicago Tribune 8 June (Grafic Mag.) 16 Ivory Flakes care helps safeguard sheerest nylons.
1977 D. Clark Gimmel Flask iii. 56 She was..dressed in a tan moygashel suit, sheer nylons on excellent legs.
b. absol. as n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric with specific qualities > [noun] > thin, light, or delicate
valencec1381
Paris crisp1400
rill1440
tuke1477
utter-fine1529
Worcester1551
cypress1577
borato1578
burat1588
quintain1674
tissue1732
zephyrine1820
summer weight1873
Palm Beach1913
sheer1934
1934 in Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang.
1937 Jrnl. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 25 Apr. (advt.) Saucy sheers for budgeteers.
1943 Amer. Speech 18 94 [New Zealand] words like bobby-pin (English ‘kirby-grip’), sheer (dress material), tubables (washable frocks), are taken from American, not English, advertisements.
1952 C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing vii. 257 Stockings..in service sheers, 4/11 to 6/11.
1966 Daily Tel. 26 Oct. 13/3 His curtain sheers..are better than the German Dralon sheers we saw in the shops last winter.
1978 Lancs. Life Apr. 85/1 There is..a new range of Swiss sheers and prints with louvred blinds to match.
7.
a. Of a material substance: Unmixed or unaccompanied with other matter. Esp. of strong drink:
Thesaurus »
Categories »
(a) undiluted with water.
(b) taken alone without solid food.
ΚΠ
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxvii. iv. 273 Wherof they drinke..the weight of two drams in mead, wine, or sheere water [L. aqua pura].
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) Induct. ii. 22 If she say I am not xiiii.d. on the score for sheere Ale. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Massinger New Way to pay Old Debts iv. ii. sig. I3v Thou neuer hadst in thy house to stay mens stomackes A peece of Suffolke cheese, or Gammon of Bacon, Or any esculent,..but sheere drinke only.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Double Marriage v. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Fffff/1 Shall I have no sheere wine then?
1667 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 548 2 or 3 spoonfuls of shier water.
1676 J. Evelyn Philos. Disc. Earth 18 Of pure and sheere-Sand, there's white, black, blewish [etc.].
1755 Connoisseur No. 53. 317 She has the gout in her constitution, and whenever she feels a twitch of it, the only thing is sheer Brandy to keep it from her head.
1764 Museum Rusticum 1 463 Sheer and slight sands.
1802 W. Heberden in T. Beddoes Hygëia II. viii. 154 It has been thought that a large quantity of sheer wine is good for arthritics.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 337 Sheer ale supports him under every thing.
1874 J. Geikie Great Ice Age xi. 154 Nothing save sheer till covers the underlying rocks.
(c) Of steel (? misapprehension of shear steel n.).
ΚΠ
1858 H. W. Longfellow Courtship Miles Standish i. 29 This breast-plate..Had it not been of sheer steel, the forgotten bones of Miles Standish Would at this moment be mould.
b. Of an immaterial thing: Taken or existing by itself,..alone. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > condition of being alone > [adjective] > alone or nothing but
onlya1400
sheer1622
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 351 When he saw all his former malice could not..doe mee any harme, with sheere money hee went about to purchase out his reuenge vpon mee.
a1646 J. Burroughes Expos. Hosea (1652) i. 16 That what he shall deliver may be nothing but the word of God in him, sheer word of God, without any mixture of his own.
1836 I. Taylor Physical Theory of Another Life ii. 22 An unembodied spirit, or sheer mind, is no where.
8. † b. sheer wit n. a fashionable term for some particular form of humour. Obsolete.
a. Neither more nor less than (what is expressed by the noun); that and nothing else; unmitigated, unqualified; downright, absolute, pure. Cf. mere adj.2 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute
shirea1225
purec1300
properc1380
plainc1395
cleana1400
fine?a1400
entirec1400
veryc1400
starka1425
utterc1430
utterlyc1440
merec1443
absolute1531
outright1532
cleara1535
bloodyc1540
unproachable1544
flat1553
downright1577
sheer1583
right-down?1586
single1590
peremptory1601
perfecta1616
downa1625
implicit1625
every way1628
blank1637
out-and-outa1642
errant1644
inaccessional1651
thorough-paced1651
even down1654
dead1660
double-dyed1667
through stitch1681
through-stitched1682
total1702
thoroughgoing1719
thorough-sped1730
regular1740
plumb1748
hollow1751
unextenuated1765
unmitigated1783
stick, stock, stone dead1796
positive1802
rank1809
heart-whole1823
skire1825
solid1830
fair1835
teetotal1840
bodacious1845
raw1856
literal1857
resounding1873
roaring1884
all out1893
fucking1893
pink1896
twenty-four carat1900
grand slam1915
stone1928
diabolical1933
fricking1937
righteous1940
fecking1952
raving1954
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) D iij Which wil be no lesse then sheere beggery.
a1680 T. Goodwin Wks. (1681) I. 388 To go out of himself, and by naked and sheer Faith to go to Jesus Christ alone.
1771 in ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lxiii. 295 Out of sheer love and kindness to Lord Chatham.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France I. 99 (note) I was always a sheer dunce for my own part.
1837 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) III. xxiii. 269 The conspirators were not strong enough to carry their point by sheer force.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iii. iii. 160 Cazalès,..said, in a moment of passion, ‘the Patriots were sheer Brigands’.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxxii. 449 Both Peterson and myself..fell asleep through sheer exhaustion.
1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Palestine vi. 145 The railway was closely skirted on the north by a sheer desert.
1885 Manch. Examiner 17 Jan. 5/4 It was a sheer mistake on the part of the driver.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > [noun] > particular kinds of wit
bavin wits1598
Attic salt1633
water-wit1658
Latin-wit1670
sheer wit1672
sea-wit1695
razor wit1786
1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal iii. 21 This Scene will make you die with laughing, if it be well acted: it is a Scene of sheer Wit, without any mixture in the world, I gad. [Cf. 71 infra is not this pure Wit?]
1682 Duke of Buckingham Ess. Poetry 269 That silly thing men call sheer Wit avoid, With which our Age so nauseously is cloy'd.
1738 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 206/2 The whole Strength of pretended Patriotism lies in Puns, Sheerwit, and a Horse Laugh.
9.
a. Of a descent or ascent, the face of a wall, cliff, etc.: Continued perpendicularly or very steeply down or up without break or halting-place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adjective] > almost vertical or sheer
upright1596
plump1611
sheer1800
sheering1851
sheer1864
1800 W. Wordsworth Hart-leap Well 50 And climbing up the hill—(it was at least Four roods of sheer ascent).
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iii. xvi. 101 This lake,..whose barriers drear Are precipices sharp and sheer.
1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece (1898) I. ix. 181 A pedestal of rock..surmounted by a sheer cliff.
1877 W. Black Green Pastures (1878) xxxvii. 298 The great rapids whirling by at our very feet towards the sudden and sheer descent.
1898 H. R. Haggard Dr. Therne 25 The precipice, which to our left was quite sheer.
b. with -down affixed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adjective] > almost vertical or sheer
upright1596
plump1611
sheer1800
sheering1851
sheer1864
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvii. v. 559 It has cut for itself that mountain gullet, or sheerdown chasm.
c. Of a fall or drop: Occurring straight down, happening from top to bottom (of a given height).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [adjective] > fallen down > type of fall (of person)
soft1579
sheer1860
imperial1861
1860 N. Hawthorne Transformation II. ii. 29 Look over the parapet and see what a sheer tumble there might still be for a traitor.
10. Of a blow (or the like): Delivered with full force; (hit or hitting) straight and hard. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific degree of force > [adjective] > striking hard or vigorously > hard or vigorous (of blows)
roundc1380
ridec1425
rattling1800
sheer1865
1865 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta in Calydon 1295 And charging with sheer tusk he drove, and smote Hyleus.
1876 A. C. Swinburne Erechtheus 450 The lord Whose wheels make lightnings of the foam-flowered sea Here on this rock..one sheer blow Struck.
B. adv.
1. † b. Qualifying a numeral: Fully, no less than.
a. Completely, absolutely, altogether, quite. Used chiefly to qualify an adverb or preposition, or with verbs expressing removal, separation, cleavage, etc. (Cf. right adv. 2b, clean adv. 5.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly
allOE
allOE
outlyOE
thwert-outc1175
skerea1225
thoroughc1225
downrightc1275
purec1300
purelyc1300
faira1325
finelyc1330
quitec1330
quitelyc1330
utterlyc1374
outerlya1382
plainlya1382
straighta1387
allutterly1389
starkc1390
oultrelya1393
plata1393
barec1400
outrightc1400
incomparablyc1422
absolutely?a1425
simpliciter?a1425
staringa1425
quitementa1450
properlyc1450
directly1455
merec1475
incomparable1482
preciselyc1503
clean?1515
cleara1522
plain1535
merely1546
stark1553
perfectly1555
right-down1566
simply1574
flat1577
flatly1577
skire1581
plumb1588
dead?1589
rankly1590
stark1593
sheera1600
start1599
handsmooth1600
peremptory1601
sheerly1601
rank1602
utter1619
point-blank1624
proofa1625
peremptorily1626
downrightly1632
right-down1646
solid1651
clever1664
just1668
hollow1671
entirely1673
blank1677
even down1677
cleverly1696
uncomparatively1702
subtly1733
point1762
cussed1779
regularly1789
unqualifiedly1789
irredeemably1790
positively1800
cussedly1802
heart1812
proper1816
slick1818
blankly1822
bang1828
smack1828
pluperfectly1831
unmitigatedly1832
bodaciously1833
unredeemedly1835
out of sight1839
bodacious1845
regular1846
thoroughly1846
ingrainedly1869
muckinga1880
fucking1893
motherless1898
self1907
stone1928
sideways1956
terminally1974
a1600 I. T. Grim the Collier iv. (1662) 52 A wily Priest..Intends to bear her shere away from all.
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle v. sig. I4 I..had my feather shot sheere away.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Spanish Curat iii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Fv/1 The prerogative of your crownes will carry the matter (Carry it sheere).
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 742 Thrown by angry Jove Sheer o're the Chrystal Battlements. View more context for this quotation
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Sheer, altogether, quite; as This Fancy is Sheer new.
1740 W. Somervile Hobbinol ii. 81 Cautious he crept, and with his crooked Bill Cut sheer the frail Support.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. vii. 113 Sheer from the threshold to the inner house [ἐς μυχὸν ἐξ οὐδοῖο διαμπερές].
1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd I. iii. ix. 245 I ain't a-going to be 'quivocal, but to speak sheer to the point.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. vii. 94 She vaulted sheer over the turbid current.
1855 H. W. Longfellow Hiawatha vii. 91 Down the trunk, from top to bottom, Sheer he cleft the bark asunder.
1863 M. Oliphant Salem Chapel I. xvi. 291 She went sheer forward when the door was open.
1896 ‘Iota’ Quaker Grandmother 324 In climbing over a stile, Miriam blundered, and fell sheer into the arms of John.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > [adverb] > no less > no less than
sheer1642
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. L3 That it must fly six hundred thousand sheere Of Germane miles.
2. Perpendicularly or very steeply up or down; straight up or down without break or halting-place.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adverb] > almost or sheer
shireOE
sheer1829
sheerlya1894
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein I. i. 24 A platform of rock..from the further side of which a precipice sunk sheer down.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. iii. 7/1 It rose sheer up above the contiguous roofs.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 591 A lofty cliff, and goes down sheer into the deep sea.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xxvi The leaden-coloured lake lying sheer below you.
1892 A. Bierce In Midst of Life 16 A stone dropped from its outer edge would have fallen sheer downward one thousand feet.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† sheerv.1
Obsolete.
1. transitive. To clear, free, acquit from blame. In quot. c1250 reflexive; cf. skere v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > justification > justify oneself [verb (reflexive)] > exculpate oneself
skerea1250
sheerc1250
c1250 Lutel Soth Sermun 85 (Cott. MS.) in Old Eng. Misc. 190 Euer heo wile hire schere [Jesus Coll. MS. skere] ne com hire nomon neh.
2. To make bright or pure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [verb (transitive)] > brighten
brightOE
polisha1382
schirka1400
sheerc1400
esclarish1546
brighten1567
to set up1588
undarken1598
embright1605
embrighten1610
resplendour1632
undarka1644
elucidate1675
vivify1791
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 165 As glysnande golde þat man con schere.
3. intransitive. ? Of water: To run bright and clear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > water > actions or processes of water [verb (intransitive)]
sheerc1400
trickle1526
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 107 I wan to a water by schore þat scherez.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
sheerv.2
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ Nautical.
1.
a. intransitive. Of a ship: To turn aside, alter its direction, swerve to either side of its course, in obedience to the helm. Chiefly with adverbs, as off, out, away. to sheer alongside, to, up, to bear up obliquely towards a vessel or other point.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > be steered > turn in answer to helm
sheer1626
port1874
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [verb (intransitive)] > be steered > swerve or deviate
sheer1626
whiffle1801
cramp1924
1626 J. Smith Accidence Young Sea-men 19 Lash fast your graplins and sheare off.
1670 J. Covel Diary in J. T. Bent Early Voy. Levant (1893) 104 All ships, if friends, when they meet upon the sea, share up to one another.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 284 The others as they sheared by us, saw no Man above Deck.
1697 London Gaz. No. 3318/3 They both sheered out a-stern of us.
1707 London Gaz. No. 4329/5 She ply'd 'em so warmly, that they were forc'd to sheer off.
1768 H. Brooke Fool of Quality III. xvi. 164 Our guns..obliged two of them to sheer away again.
1836 M. Scott Cruise of Midge i. 7 They sheered-to with an intent to speak him.
1874 F. G. D. Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vii. 222 The second boat of each column is to sheer twenty feet out of the wake of her leader.
1890 W. C. Russell Ocean Trag. I. ii. 39 The boat then sheered alongside.
1894 Law Times Rep. 71 103/1 Suddenly changing her course, and sheering back to the south.
1899 F. T. Bullen Log of Sea-waif 218 She sheered in towards us.
b. To swerve to either side irregularly or unsteadily, not in obedience to the helm. Also with round.
ΚΠ
1685 N. Boteler Six Dialogues Sea-services 289 When a Ship in her Sailing is not steddily steered She is said to go Sheering: Also when a Tide-gate runneth very swift, it will cause a Ship to go in and out, and so not straight forward; and this is called Sheering.
1769 [see sheering n. and adj. at Derivatives]. 1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions II. 474 The Esk..continued sheering from side to side to the utmost extent that the rope, by which she was towed, would allow.
1848 Notes of Cases (1849) VI. 7 The brig was sheering, not drudging.
1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 180 The ship then sheered to her starboard anchor.
c. transferred and figurative. Chiefly with off: To change one's course; to depart, go away; to go off in a new direction or on the other ‘tack’.In quot. 1865 with irregular past tense shore (by confusion with the verb shear).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > go away [verb (intransitive)]
wendeOE
i-wite971
ashakec975
shakeOE
to go awayOE
witea1000
afareOE
agoOE
atwendOE
awayOE
to wend awayOE
awendOE
gangOE
rimeOE
flitc1175
to fare forthc1200
depart?c1225
part?c1225
partc1230
to-partc1275
biwitec1300
atwitea1325
withdrawa1325
to draw awayc1330
passc1330
to turn one's (also the) backc1330
lenda1350
begonec1370
remuea1375
voidc1374
removec1380
to long awaya1382
twinc1386
to pass one's wayc1390
trussc1390
waive1390
to pass out ofa1398
avoida1400
to pass awaya1400
to turn awaya1400
slakec1400
wagc1400
returnc1405
to be gonea1425
muck1429
packc1450
recede1450
roomc1450
to show (a person) the feetc1450
to come offc1475
to take one's licence1475
issue1484
devoidc1485
rebatea1500
walka1500
to go adieua1522
pikea1529
to go one's ways1530
retire?1543
avaunt1549
to make out1558
trudge1562
vade?1570
fly1581
leave1593
wag1594
to get off1595
to go off1600
to put off1600
shog1600
troop1600
to forsake patch1602
exit1607
hence1614
to give offa1616
to take off1657
to move off1692
to cut (also slip) the painter1699
sheera1704
to go about one's business1749
mizzle1772
to move out1792
transit1797–1803
stump it1803
to run away1809
quit1811
to clear off1816
to clear out1816
nash1819
fuff1822
to make (take) tracks (for)1824
mosey1829
slope1830
to tail out1830
to walk one's chalks1835
to take away1838
shove1844
trot1847
fade1848
evacuate1849
shag1851
to get up and get1854
to pull out1855
to cut (the) cable(s)1859
to light out1859
to pick up1872
to sling one's Daniel or hook1873
to sling (also take) one's hook1874
smoke1893
screw1896
shoot1897
voetsak1897
to tootle off1902
to ship out1908
to take a (run-out, walk-out, etc.) powder1909
to push off1918
to bugger off1922
biff1923
to fuck off1929
to hit, split or take the breeze1931
to jack off1931
to piss offa1935
to do a mick1937
to take a walk1937
to head off1941
to take a hike1944
moulder1945
to chuff off1947
to get lost1947
to shoot through1947
skidoo1949
to sod off1950
peel1951
bug1952
split1954
poop1961
mugger1962
frig1965
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > change direction of movement [verb (intransitive)] > diverge from course
bowa1000
swervec1330
wrya1350
crookc1380
to turn asidea1382
depart1393
decline14..
wryc1400
divert1430
desvoy1481
wave1548
digress1552
prevaricate1582
yaw1584
to turn off1605
to come off1626
deviate1635
sag1639
to flinch out1642
deflect1646
de-err1657
break1678
verge1693
sheera1704
to break off1725
lean1894
a1704 T. Brown Volunteer's Speech to Colonel in Wks. (1711) IV. 227 I resolv'd then to shere into the City, to try what luck I could find there.
1710 Brit. Apollo 26–28 Apr. [She] has pickt 15 Guineas out of my Pocket, and shear'd off with it.
1776 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 2 May (1778) Letting the points of the coulters hang two or three inches below the shares, to prevent their sheering from side to side.
1810 Sporting Mag. 36 30 They..were obliged to sheer off the ground.
1834 C. F. Hoffman Let. 15 Dec. in Winter in Far West (1835) I. 167 Wheeling my horse suddenly from the trail towards a thicket of dwarf oaks,..he sheered from the bush, and I was thrown upon the spot.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xix. v. 509 His Captains lagged, or shore off.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. ix. 165 The history of our English, as compared with the Low-German dialects from which it sheered off in the fifth and sixth centuries.
1876 J. R. Green Stray Stud. Eng. & Italy 118 An age when the interests of popular liberty and of intellectual freedom had sheered off from the church.
1879 R. Jefferies Amateur Poacher xii. 235 The sheep..now sheered out from the hedge, and allowed me to go by.
2. in extended use.1880 E. Fitzgerald Lett. (1889) I. 456 Here is a good Warwickshire word—‘I sheered my Eyes round the room’. So good that it explains itself.† b. to sheer home the anchor: to drag the anchor by swerving. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To cause (a vessel) to sheer; to direct (a vessel) obliquely towards a given point. Also with adverbs, as off.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > steering > steer [verb (transitive)] > obliquely
sheer1633
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 83 Shering the Ship, night and day,..amongst the disperst Ice that came athwart of vs.
1633 T. James Strange Voy. 94 We..stood all on the decks to watch the Ices, sheering of the Ship (to and againe), to auoyd it.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 20 We will sheer off our Ship, and hoise out our Shallop.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine at Anchor To sheer the ship to her Anchor, is to steer the ship's head towards the place where the anchor lies when they are heaving the cable into the ship.
1797 S. James Narr. Voy. 130 The helmsman sheered our ship as close..as it was possible to go.
1816 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges iv. 98 Let the boat be sheered off from the bank..by a cable.
1816 H. Douglas Ess. Mil. Bridges iv. 98 Whenever a current is so strong as to render it unsafe to sheer a boat across with cables.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor [verb (intransitive)] > anchor > drag or come loose (of anchor)
to sheer home the anchor1644
drag1839
talk1914
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. at Shearing Where a tide-gate runs very swift, the ship will shere in and out, and so much in some places, that they are faine..to steere her upon the tide, for feare she should shere-home her Anchors (that is, draw them home).
Derivatives
ˈsheering n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > ability to answer helm > tendency to go off course > swerving or deviation
yaw1546
yawinga1614
sheering1627
veeringa1682
sheer1694
sheer-off1808
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > [adjective]
turning1495
veering1605
wheeling1716
sheering1896
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xii. 58 Shearing off will teare it in peeces if the rope and anchor hold.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Sheering,..deviating or straying from the line of the course..so as to form a crooked and irregular path through the water..commonly occasioned by the ship's being difficult to steer, but very often from the negligence or incapacity of the helmsman.
1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 8 We have strawed our best..To the shark and the sheering gull.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sheerv.3
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ transitive. To give (a ship) a particular sheer or rise.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > build a ship [verb (transitive)] > give a particular sheer to
sheer1711
1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 49 The Shaping of any Ship upwards, termed Sheering of her.
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. To sheer up [aft or forward], to raise the sheer of a vessel.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
sheerv.4
/ʃɪə/, U.S. /ʃɪ(ə)r/ rare.
intransitive. Of a rock-face: To rise or descend vertically or very steeply; in quot. with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > cliff > form cliff [verb (intransitive)] > rise or descend steeply
sheer1863
1863 S. Baring-Gould Iceland 134 The rock sheered up some hundred feet above our heads.
Derivatives
ˈsheering adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adjective] > almost vertical or sheer
upright1596
plump1611
sheer1800
sheering1851
sheer1864
1851 G. W. Curtis Nile Notes xxvi. 117 Smoothly sheering precipices below gave Hope no ledge to grasp in falling.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.11694n.21691
adj.adv.c1275
v.1c1250v.21626
v.31711v.41851