shad-spirit 
The fishermen when drawing their seines at night often 
start it from its moist resting place, and hear its sharp 
cry as it flies away through the darkness. They do not 
know the cause of the sound, and from the association 
they have dubbed its author the shad-spirit. 
O. B. GrinneU, The Century, Oct., 1883. 
shad-splash (shad'splash), . Same as shad- 
wash. 
shaduf, . See shadoof. 
shad-waiter (shad'wa'ter), n. A coregonoid 
fish, the Menomonee whitefish, Coregonus quad- 
rilateralis, also called pilot-fish and roundfish. 
Shad-waiter (Coregonus quadrilattralis}. 
shad-wash (shad'wosh), . The wash, swish, 
or splash of the water made by shad in the act 
of spawning; hence, a place where shad spawn. 
The shad spawn generally at night* and select shallow 
water. They run side by side in pairs, male and female, 
and come suddenly out of the water as the female depos- 
its her spawn, and the male ejects the milt upon it. Also 
shad-splash. 
shad-working (shad'wer"king), n. The arti- 
ficial propagation of shad, 
shady (sha'di), a. [= G. schattig; as shade + 
-i/ 1 . Ct'. shadowy.'] 1. Abounding with or af- 
fording shade. 
Their babble and talk vnder bushes and thadie trees, 
the first disputation and contentious reasoning. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 30. 
Shady coverts yield a cool retreat. 
Addison, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, iv. 
2. Sheltered from glare or sultry heat ; shaded : 
as, a shady place. 
Cast it also that you may have rooms . . . shady for 
summer and warm for winter. Bacon, Building (ed. 1887). 
We will go home through the wood : that will be the 
shadiest way. Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, xxxvii. 
3. Such as cannot bear the light; of doubtful 
honesty or morality : as, a shady transaction. 
[Colloq.] 
There were admirers of Putney : workmen of rebellious 
repute and of advanced opinions on social and religious 
questions ; nonsuited plaintiffs and defendants of shady 
record, for whom he had at onetime or another done what 
he could. Howells, Annie Kilburn, xxv. 
His principal business seems to have been a billiard- 
marker, which he combined with much shadier ways of 
getting money. The Century, XXXV. 558. 
On the shady side Of, beyond : used with reference to 
age: as, to be on the shady side of forty. [Colloq.] To 
kee-D shady, to keep dark. ISlang.] 
shafflet (snaf'l), r. i. [Perhaps in part a dial. 
var. of shuffle; but cf. Sc. shachle, shochle. Cf. 
also > shaffling.] To walk shamblingly; hobble 
or limp, 
shaffling (shaf'ling), a. and n. [Cf. sliaffle, r.] 
1. 17. Indolent. 
II. n. An awkward, insignificant person. 
Halliwett. [Prov. Eng.] 
shaffornet, shaffront, . Obsolete forms of 
cliamfron. 
Shafiite (shaf'i-It), n. [< Ar. ShdfPi, name of 
the founder, + -/fe 2 .] A member of one of the 
four divisions or sects into which the orthodox 
Mohammedans, or Sunnites, are divided. 
shafnett, n. [A corrupt form of shaftment.'] 
Same as shaftmond. 
Shaft 1 (shaft), . [< ME. shaft, schaft, scJieft, 
saeft, an arrow, shaft, rod, pole (of a spear), < 
AS. sceaft, a shaft (of a spear), dart (= OS. skaft 
= D. sckacht = MLG. LG. schacht (ch for /, as 
also in D. lucht for luft, air) = OHG. scaft, 
MHG. G. schaft = Icel. skapi, prop, skaft, 
shaft, missile, = Sw. Dan. skaft, a handle, haft), 
with formative -t, prob. orig. pp., lit. 'a shaven 
or smoothed rod or stick,' < scafan, shave : see 
shave. The L. scapus, a stalk, stem, shaft, Gr. 
mj/iruv, aKaxTov, antjn-Tpov, a "staff, maybe from 
the same root : see scope 2 , scepter. Cf. shaft 2 , 
shafts. ] i . A long slender rod forming the body 
of a spear or lance; also, the spear or lance 
itself. 
Hade he no helme ne hawb[e)rgh nauther, . . . 
Ne no scha.fte, ne no schelde, to scheone, ne to smyte. 
Sir Qawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.X 1. 205. 
His sleep, his mete, his drynk is him byraft, 
That lene he wex, and drye as is a shaft. 
Chaucer, Knight s Tale, 1. 604. 
2. An arrow ; a long arrow, used with the long- 
bow, as distinguished from the bolt, or quarrel, 
used with the crossbow. See arrow, broad- 
arrow, flight-arrow. 
5542 
The sent-strong Swallow sweepeth to and fro, 
As swift as shafts fly from a Turkish Bowe. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, 1. B. 
From the hour that first 
His beauty she beheld, felt her soft bosom pierc'd 
With Cupid's deadliest stiuft. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, ii. 311. 
Shafts 
Of gentle satire, kin to charity. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
3. Something resembling an arrow or a missile 
in shape, motion, or effect : as, shafts of light. 
A mitre . . . 
Was forged all of fyne gold, and fret fulle of perrils, 
si i .-,i staff ulle of stanes that strait out bemes 
As it ware schemerand schaftis of the schlre sonne. 
King Alexander, p. 53, quoted in Alliterative Poems (ed. 
[Morris), cjloss.. p. 189. 
A thousand shafts of lightning pass. 
Bryant, Legend of the Delawares. 
4. A body of a long cylindrical shape ; an un- 
branched stem, stalk, trunk, or the like; the 
columnar part of anything. Specifically (o) In 
arch. : (1) The body of a column between the base and the 
capital ; the fust or trunk. It generally diminishes in 
diameter, sometimes from the bottom, sometimes from a 
quarter or from a third of its height, and sometimes it has a 
slight swelling, called the entasis. In Ionic and Corinthian 
columns the difference of the upper and lower diameters 
of the shaft varies from a fifth to a twelfth of the lower 
diameter. See column. (2) In medieval architecture, one 
of the small columns often clustered around main pillars, 
applied against a wall to receive the impost of a rib, an 
arch, etc., or used in the jambs of doors and windows, in 
arcades, etc. Bee cuts under jamb-shaft and pillar. (3) The 
spire of a steeple. (4) The part of a chimney which rises 
aoove the roof, (b) In ornilh. : (1) The cora humming- 
bird, Thaumastitra cora. See cut under sheartail. (2) The 
main stem, stock, or scape of a feather, Including both 
calamus and rachis. (c) In anat.: (1) The part of a hair 
which is free and projects beyond the surface of the skin, 
between the root and the point, or as far as the pith ex- 
tends. See hair, n., 1. (2) The continuity or diaphysis of 
a long bone, as distinguished from its articular extremi- 
ties, condyles, or epiphyses. c/i In entotn., the cylindri- 
cal basal part of an organ when it supports a larger head 
or apex. Specifically (1) The basal joint or scape of an 
antenna. (2) The scape or stipe supporting the capit- 
ulum In the halter or poiser of a dipterous insect. Also 
called scapus and stipes, () In mack. : (1) A kind of 
large axle : as, the sin/ ft of a fly-wheel ; the shaft of a 
steamer's screw or paddles ; the shaft or crank-axle of a 
locomotive. See cuts under paddle-wheel, screw propeller, 
and seaming-machine. (2) A revolving bar or connected 
bars serving to convey the force which is generated in an 
engine or other prime mover to the different working ma- 
chines, for which purpose it is provided with drums and 
belts, or with cog-wheels. See cuts under scroll-wheel, 
shafting, and oil-mill. 
5. A handle, as of a tool, utensil, instrument, 
or the like : as, the shaft of a hammer, ax, 
whip, etc. 6. A long lath at each end of 
the heddles of a loom. 7. One of the bars or 
trams between a pair of which a horse is har- 
nessed to a vehicle ; a thill ; also, the pole or 
tongue of a carriage, chariot, or the like. 
When Alexander came thif her, he had a great desire to 
see the tower in which was the palace of Gordius & Mydas, 
that he might behold the shafts or beam of Gordius his 
cart, & the indissoluble knot fastned thereto. 
Pttrchae, Pilgrimage, p. 325. 
Cloth-yard shaft. See cloth-yard. Regulator-shaft. 
See regulator. To make a shaft or a bolt of it. to make 
or do what one can with the material in hand ; hence, to 
take the risk and make the best of it. The shaft was the 
arrow used with the longbow, the bolt that used with the 
crossbow. 
Ill make a shaft or a bolt on 't. 
Shalt., M. W. of W., ill. 4. 24. 
The Prince is preparing for his Journey ; I shall to it 
[my business] again closely when he is gone, or make a 
Shaft or a Bolt of it. Uowett, Letters, I. ill. 24. 
shaft- (shaft), n. [In this sense not found in 
ME. or AS., and due to G. influence (from 
German miners in England) ; = Dan. skakt, < 
G. schacht, MHG. schaht, shaft (of a mine), prop, 
a LG. form, used only in tliis sense (G. schacht 
also a square rood), < MLG. liG.(&lsot>.) schacht, 
a shaft (in a mine), a particular use, appar. in 
allusion to its being straight and narrow, of 
schacht, a shaft or rod (as of a spear): see 
shaft 1 ."] 1. In mining, a vertical or inclined 
excavation made in opening the ground for 
mining purposes. A shaft may be sunk vertically, 
without regard to the dip of the lode, or it may be sunk 
by an incline following the lode, either closely or approxi- 
mately, according as its dip is more or less regular. When 
it is expected that extensive operations will be carried 
on. the shafts are usually sunk vertically, and connected 
with the lode at various depths by cross drifts or levels. 
When, however, the dip of the lode is pretty uniform and 
its thickness considerable, all the shafts of the mine may 
be sunk upon it as inclines. This is the case with the 
largest mines on Lake Superior. Shafts have various forms, 
some being round, others oval ; but the most common 
shape is rectangular. In large mines the shaft is usually 
divided into several compartments, one being used for 
the pumpinp-machinery, two or more for hoisting ore. and 
another for lowering heavy timbers. In the English coal- 
mines the shafts are mostly circular in section ; in Bel- 
gium, polygonal : in the anthracite region of Pennsyl- 
shafting 
van fa the winding shafts are always square or rectangular, 
and there the largest shafts have a length of from 44 to 52 
feet, and a width of 10 or Ii 
2. In milit. mining, a vertical pit the bottom of 
which serves as a point of departure for a gal- 
lery or series of galleries leading to mines or 
chambers filled with explosives. 3. The inte- 
rior space of a blast-furnace above the hearth, 
and especially the part where the diameter re- 
mains nearly the same, or that which is above 
the boshes. More often called the body of the 
furnace. Pumping-shaft. in mining, the shaft in 
which is placed the "pit-work, or the pumping-machinery 
used in raising water from the lower portions of the mine. 
shaft 3 t, n. [ME. shaft, schaft, < AS. sceaft, a 
creature, gesccaft, gescseft, gesceft, the creation, 
a created thing or being, a creature, decree, 
fate, destiny (= OS. gisefti, decree of fate, = 
OHG. gascaft, creation, creature, fate, = Goth. 
gaskafts, creation; cf. AS. gesceap, a creation, 
creature, decree of fate, destiny, etc.), < ge-. a 
generalizing prefix (see i- 1 ), + sceajjan, shape, 
form: see mape.] 1. Creation; a creation; a 
creature. Halliwcll. 2. Make; form; figure. 
For be a man faire or foule, it falleth nouste for to lakku 
The shappe ne the shafte that god shope hymselue ; 
For al that he did was wel ydo. 
Piers Plowman (B.\ xL 387. 
shaft-alley (shaft'al"i), . A fore-and-aft pas- 
sage in the after part of a ship, extending from 
the engine-room to the stern-bearing, and con- 
taining the screw-shaft and couplings: known 
in England as screw-alley. 
shaft-bearing (shWt'bSr'ing), n. In mack., a 
bearing for a shaft; a journal-box or pillow- 
block for shafting, whether resting on the floor, 
on a bracket, or suspended from the ceiling. 
When suspended from a celling, such bearings are called 
shafting-hangers, or simply hangers. See cut under jour- 
nal-bearing. 
shaft-bender (shaffben^der), n. A person who 
bends timber by steam or pressure. 
shaft-coupling (shaft'kup'ling), n. 1. A de- 
vice for connecting two or more lengths of 
shafting together. See coupling. 2. A de- 
vice for connecting the shafts of a wagon to 
the front axle Shaft-coupling Jack, a tool for 
bringing the shaft-eye and the axle-clip of a vehicle into 
their proper relative position, so that the connecting-bolt 
will pass through them. 
shafted (shafted), a. [< shafft + -ed2.] Hav- 
ing-a shaft or shafts. Specifically (a) In her., noting 
a spear, arrow, or similar weapon, and denoting a differ- 
ence of tincture in the shaft from thatof the head, feathers, 
etc. Thus, an arrow shafted gules, flighted and barbed 
argent, denotes that the head and feathers are of argent, 
while the shaft only is of gules. (i>) Ornamented with 
shafts or small clustered pillars ; resting upon shafts : as, 
a shafted arch. See cut under impost. 
When the broken arches are black in night, 
And each shafted oriel glimmers white. 
Scott, L. of L. M., 1L 1. 
(o) In urnith., having the shafts (of f eathers) of a specified 
character : used in composition : as, afterAo/ted, Ted-shaft- 
ed, yellow-shafted. Shafted imposts. See impost, 2. 
shaft-eye ( shaft'!), n. A hole in a shaft of any 
kind, through which a pin or bolt is passed. 
shaft-furnace (shaft'fer'nas), n. An upright 
furnace; one of which the stack or body occu- 
pies a vertical position: a term used rarely, 
and chiefly in contradistinction to the reverber- 
atory furnace, in which the body is horizontal. 
Boasting-furnaces In which the pulverized ore falls down 
a shaft through an ascending vertical current of flame, as 
in the Stetefeldt furnace, are also sometimes called shaft- 
furnaces. 
shaft-horse (shaft'h6rs). n. The horse that 
goes in the shafts or thills of a cart, chaise, or 
other vehicle. 
shafting (shafting), n. [< shaftl + -iwfir 1 .] In 
mach., the system of shafts which connects ma- 
chinery with the prime mover, and through 
c 
Shafting. 
a, shaft ; *,*', pulleys; c, c', belts ; et, ef , hangers; e, drip-cup to 
receive oil dropping from the bearing in ff. 
which motion is communicated to the former by 
the latter. See shaffl, 4 (e ) Flexible shafting, 
a form of shafting composed of a number of wires wound 
spirally one over another, used to convey power for short 
distances to tools that require to be moved about, or 
changed in position or direction. 
