sheriffalty 
jurisdiction of sheriff ; sheriffship : shrievalty. 
2. Term or period of office as sheriff. 
Sir Rowland Meredith, knighted in Ills slirri/allii, on 
occasion of an address which he brought up to the king 
from his county. Ilichardstm. Sir Charles firandisun, viii. 
The Year after I had Twins; they came in Mr. Pent- 
wcazel's sheri/nllii. Fixitc, Taste, i. 1. 
sheriff-clerk (sher'if-klerk), n. In Scotland, 
the clerk of the sheriff's court, who has charge 
of the records of the court. He registers the 
judgments of the court, and issues them to the 
prcpper parties. 
Sheriffdom (sher'if-dum). n. [< sheriff + -dom.~\ 
1. The office of sheriff ; shrievalty. 
Hereditary sherifdomx. Stubbs, Const. Hist., 98. 
2. The district or territory over which a sher- 
iff's jurisdiction extends. 
Wigtown was probably created a sherifdom in the 13th 
century. Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 564. 
sheriffess (sher'if-es), . [< sheriff + -ess.] 
A female sheriff. [Rare.] 
Elizaheth, widow of Thomas Lord Clifford, was zheri/- 
ess of Westmoreland for many years. 
T. n'arttm, Hist. Eng. Poetry (ed. 1871), II. 180, note. 
sheriffhood (sher'if-hud), n. [< ME. *//,/- 
liode, sliorefliode ; < sheriff + -hood.'] The of- 
fice of sheriff. 
The furst Artycle. Weteth that we haue graunted and 
by our charter present confenned to the citezens of Lon- 
don the Share/hade of London and of Middelsex, wyth all 
thingis and custumes that fallith to the same sherefhold 
of London w l in the cite and wythout, by lande and bi 
water. 
Charter of London (Rich. II.), in Arnold's Chron., p. 14. 
sheriff-officer (sher'if-of "i-ser), it. In Scotland, 
an officer connected with the sheriff's court, who 
is charged with arrests, the serving of pro- 
cesses, and the like. 
sheriffryt, . [< sheriff + -ry, syncopated form 
of -en/.] Sheriffship. 
sheriffship (sher'if-ship), . [< sheriff + -xl/i/i.~] 
The office or the jurisdiction of a sheriff; shriev- 
alty. 
sheriff-tootht (sher'if-toth), . A tenure by the 
service of providing entertainment for the 
sheriff at his county courts: a common tax 
formerly levied for the sheriff's diet. Wharton. 
sheriffwick (sher'if-wik), n. [< sheriff + wick, 
as in bailiwick, constablewick.'] The district un- 
der a sheriff's jurisdiction. 
sherkt, ' An obsolete form of shirk. 
shermant, . An obsolete form of shearman. 
shern (shern), n. Same as sham. 
sheroot, . See cheroot. 
sherris, Same as sherry. [Obsolete or ar- 
chaic.] 
The second property of yonr excellent xherris is, the 
warming of the blood. Shalt., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 3. 111. 
sherris-sackt, See sacks. 
sherrug (sher'ug), n. Same as shcarhog. 
sherry (sher'i),.; -p\. sherries (-iz). [Earlymod. 
E. sherris, from which, mistaken as a plural, the 
supposed singular sherry was formed (cf . elter- 
ryi,lMal, similarly formed from *cheris, pease 1 , 
etc.); abbr. of Sherris-wine (or Sherris-xnck) (= 
D. Xeres-wijn = G. Xeres-wein; F. tin de Xeres = 
Pg. vinho de Xerc:), < Sherris, also written Sher- 
ries (with sh for Sp. x), also Xeres, Xerez, < Sp. 
Xeres, now Jerez, prop. Jerez de la Frontera, 
in southern Spain, near Cadiz, where the wine 
is still made ; < L. Csesaris, gen. of Csesar, Cffisar, 
after whom the town was named: see Csesar. 
Cf. Sp. Sarayossa, contr. < L. Csesarea Augusta.] 
1. Originally, the wine of Xeros; hence, a gen- 
eral name for the strong white wines of the 
south of Spain, of all qualities except the low- 
est. It is a wine that is much manipulated, differences 
of color being often produced by artificial means, and a very 
large part of the exported wine being fortified with brandy 
or alcohol, and otherwise disguised. Compare amontillado. 
I have 
A bottle of sherry in my power shall beget 
New crotchets in your heads. 
Bean, and Ft., Coxcomb, i. 1. 
2. A small wine-glass of the size and form 
commonly used for sherry and similar wines. 
sherry-cobbler (sher'i-kob'ler), . A cobbler 
made with sherry. See eofi&fcr 2 , 1. 
Sherry-vallies (sher'i-vaFiz), . i>1. [Perhaps, 
through a F. or Sp. form, ult. < LL. ftaraballa, 
a, wide trousers such as are woni in 
the East, < Heb. (Ohaldee) sarbalin (translated 
"hosen" in Dan. iii. 21).] Overalls of thick 
cloth or leather, buttoned or tied round the legs 
over the trousers as a guard against mud or 
dust when traveling on horseback; leggings. 
[Western U. S.] 
shertet, . A Middle English spelling of shirt. 
350 
:.r>r>f) 
She-sole (she'sol), H. The whiff, a fish. [Irish.] 
shet, r. An obsolete or dialectal form of shut*. 
shetet. A Midd'e English form of shtnit, xluvl 1 . 
Shetert, . A Middle Kng!isli form of. s-/m/r;-. 
sheth (sheth), H. The post or standard of a 
plow, which is attached at its upper extremity 
to the plow-brain, and affords below an attach- 
ment for the mold-board and land-side and in- 
directly for the plowshare. 
shethet, A Middle English form of shcnth, 
Shetland argus. See Anjux. 
Shetlander (shet'land-er), . A native or an 
inhabitant of Shetland, a group of islands 
lying to the north-northeast of the mainland 
of Scotland, and forming, with the Orkney Isl- 
ands, the most northerly county of Scotland. 
Shetland lace. A needle-made openwork or- 
namental trimming, like needle-point lace in 
all respects except that it is made of woolen 
yarn, and is therefore coarse and large in pat- 
tern, and capable of being made very warm. 
Shawls, scarfs, etc., are made of it. 
Shetland pony. See shelly. 
Shetland wool. See irool. 
sheuch, sheugh (shueh or shuch), n. [Also 
x'-ncli, .ii-irrli; perhaps a form of sew 2 .] A fur- 
row; a ditch; a gully. [Scotch.] 
It neither grew in syke nor ditch, 
Nor yet in ony sheuch; 
But at the gates o' Paradise 
That birk grew fair eneuch. 
The Clerk's Tica Sons o' Owsenford (Child's Ballads, II. 70). 
I saw the battle sair and teugh, 
And reekin' red ran mony a sheugh. 
Burns, Battle of Sheriff-Muir. 
sheva (she-vii'), H. [Also shcwa, shira; < Heb. 
sherd', sheicff, prob. same as slide', slidw', evil, 
emptiness, < slid', crash, be destroyed.] In 
Heb. gram. : (a) An obscure vowel-sound, simi- 
lar to or identical with that known as the neu- 
tral vowel, (b) The vowel-point representing 
such a sound. Simple sheva consists of two dots placed 
thus, , under a consonant, and represents the neutral 
vowel or the absence of a vowel-sound after a consonant. 
In the latter capacity it is called silent sheva. in the former 
sheva mobile. Compound sheva consists of the points rep- 
resenting short a, e, and o respectively, with a simple 
sheva placed at the right (thus, ^n-, ^r ~\ and indi- 
cates sounds intermediate in nature between these and 
the neutral vowel. A neutral vowel in the Aryan lan- 
guages is also sometimes called shew. 
I would suggest that the original word was irpoira.\aici<a 
= 7rpo*aA<ciw (the TT by labiation for q, and the second a 
a xheva, as in juaAaieos). Classical Rev., II. 251. 
shew (sho). An archaic form of show 1 , show&. 
shewbread, . See showbrcad. 
shewelt, sewelt (sho'-, su'el), . [Also semeU ; 
early mod. E. also shaile, < ME. schawle, a scare- 
crow; perhaps from the root of shy 1 ; usually 
referred to shew, shoie 1 ."] A scarecrow. 
Thou [the owl] seist that gromes [men] the ifoth [take], 
And heie on rodde the anhoth [hang], 
And the to-twichet and to-schaketh 
And summe of the schawles maketh. 
Old and Nightingale (Morris's Spec. Early Eng.), 1. 1648. 
Any thyng that is hung up is called a Sewel. And those 
are used most commonly to amaze a Deare, and to make 
him refuse to passe wher they are hanged up. 
Turberville, Books of Hunting (ed. 1575), p. 98. 
So are these bugbears of opinions brought by great 
clerks into the world to serve as Khewcls to keep them 
from those faults whereto else the vanity of the world 
and weakness of senses might pull them. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iii. 
shewert, . A Middle English form of shoin r-. 
shewink (she-wink'), n. Same as oltetciiik. 
sheyk, sheykh, . See sheik. 
Shiah (she ii), H. [Also Sheeah, Sheah; = Pers. 
Hind. Ar. shi'a, shi'ah, orig. Ar., lit. 'sect.'] A 
member of that division of the Mohammedans 
which maintains that Ali, first cousin of Mo- 
hammed and husband of his daughter Fatima, 
was the first legitimate imam or successor of 
the Prophet, and rejects the first three califs of 
the Sunnis (the other great division) as usurp- 
ers. The Shiahs "are also called the Imamiyahs, be- 
cause they believe the Muslim religion consists in the 
true knowledge of the Imam or rightful leaders of the 
faithful" (Hnyhts, Diet. Islam). (See imam and calif.) 
They claim to be the orthodox Mohammedans, but arc 
treated by the Sunnis as heretics. The Shiahs comprise 
nearly the whole Persian nation, and are also found in 
Ondh, a province of British India ; but the Mohammedans 
of the other parts of India are for the most part Sunnis. 
Also Shiite. 
We have seen above that the Shi' a were divided into 
several sects, each holding for one of the direct descen- 
dants of 'Ali, and paying him the reverence due toadeity. 
Encyc. Brit., XVI. 598. 
shibboleth (shib'6-leth), n. [= F. schibboleth = 
G. schiboleth = LL. scibbolcth, < Heb. shibboleth, 
an ear of corn, a stream (in the case mentioned 
prob. used in the latter sense, with ref. to 
shield 
the river Jordan), < "shi'ihlinl, increase, flow, 
grow.] A Hebrew word, meaning ' ear of corn ' 
or 'stream,' used by Jephtliah, one of the 
judges of Israel, as a test-word by which to dis- 
tinguish the fleeing Kphraimites (who could 
not pronounce (he xh in shibboleth) from his 
own men, the Gileadites (Judges xii. 4-6); 
hence, a test-word, or the watchword or pet 
phrase of a party, sect, or school. Similarly, dur- 
ing the massacre of the Sicilian Vespers, the French be- 
trayed their nationality by inability to pronounce cor- 
rectly the Italian word ciceri. 
Without reprieve, adjudged to death, 
For want of well pronouncing shibboleth. 
Hilton, S. A., 1. 289. 
So exasperated were they at seeing the encouragement 
the Flemish and French tongues met with, that a general 
massacre took place of all who had the shibboleth of those 
languages upon them. 
Goldsmith, On Propagation of Eng. Language. 
Nowadays it is a sort of sibboleth and shibboleth by 
which to know whether anyone has ever visited the place 
[Tangier] to note whether he adds the final s or not. 
The Academy, July 6, 18b9, p. 4. 
Shick-shack-day (shik'shak-da), . [AlsoShig- 
shaa-day; origin obscure.] The 29th of May, 
or Royal Oak day. Hallitcell. [Local, Eng.] 
When I was at the College School, Gloucester, some 
twenty years ago, almost every boy wore an oak-apple 
(some of which were even gilded) in bis buttonhole on 
the '29th of May. Those who had not this decoration were 
called sotto voce in the school-room and yelled after in 
the grove, Shi'j-fhag ! this opprobrious epithet, when ut- 
tered at close quarters, being generally accompanied 
by three pinches. >"o boy who cared for his peace of 
mind and wished to save himself some ' nips and tweaks " 
would appear in school without at least an oak-leaf in 
honour of the day. 
S. It. Townshcnd Mayer, in N. and Q., 5th ser., IV. 176-7. 
shide (shid), n. [Early mod. E. also shyde, 
sclnjrlc; < ME. shide, schide, schyde, < AS. scid, 
a splinter, a billet of wood (scid-weall, a paling 
fence). = OFries. skid = OHG.scif, MHG.*c/i, 
G. scheit = Icel. skidh, a billet of wood, = Sw. 
skid, a wooden shoe or sole, a skate, = Norw. 
skid, a snow-shoe, = Dan. ski, a piece of wood, 
a billet, a snow-shoe (see ski) ; cf. Lith. skeda, 
ske<lra, Lett, skaida, a splinter, Gr. o-^fa, a 
splinter (see schedule, schism) ; related to sheath, 
ult. from the root of shed 1 : see shed 1 . Doublet 
of skill 1 .'] A piece of wood; a strip; a piece 
split off; a plank. [Old and prov. Eng.] 
And [he] come to Noe anon and bad hym noujt lette : 
"Swithe go shape a shippe of shides and of hordes." 
Piers Plowman (B), ix. 131. 
Both holmes, and beeches broad, and beams of ash, and 
shides of okes, 
With wedges great they clive. 
Phaer's Virgil (1600). (Sares.) 
shie, v. See sliif*. 
shiel, n. Same as sheafi, sheaV 2 . 
shield (sheld), n. [Early mod. E. also sheild; < 
ME. sheeld, sheelde, scheeld, sheld, scheld, shelde, 
schelde, < AS. scild, scield, sceld, set/Id, a shield, = 
OS.scd=OFries.,fJteM=D.scM<t:=MLG..scft), 
LG. schild = OHG. scitt, MHG. seltilt, a shield, 
G. schild, shield, coat of arms, trade-sign, = Icel. 
skjiildr (pi. xkildir) = Sw. skold = Dan. skjold, a 
shield, skilt, badge, trade-sign, = Goth, skildits, a 
shield : root unknown. Some connect the word 
with shell and scale 1 , as denoting a thin piece of 
wood or metal (see shell and scale 1 ), others with 
Icel. skella,skjalla, clash, rattle.] 1. A frame 
or rounded plate made of wood, metal, hide, or 
leather, carried by warriors on the arm or in the 
hand, as a defense, from remote antiquity until 
the perfection of firearms rendered it more an 
Shield of Mounted Man- 
at-arms. 
A.closeof i4th century; B, 
' / close of rjth century ; C, first 
I half of I3th century. 
encumbrance than 
a safeguard, and by 
savage peoples to the 
present day. Specifically, 
as distinguished from the buck- 
ler, a large implement of the 
sort, covering the body at least 
on one side, and carried on the 
