shoreweed 
staminate on scapes an inch high with long filaments, the 
most conspicuous part of the plant. Also ikorMVOflL 
Shore-Whaling (shor'hwfi-ling). . The pur- 
suit or capture of the whale near the shore. It 
was the earliest method practised in America. The boats 
were launched from the beach, ami the captured whale 
was towed ashore, to be cut in and tried out. Most shore- 
whaling in America is now done on the Pacific coast, and 
the men employed are mainly foreigners. California shore- 
whaling was begun at Monterey in lsf.1 by Captain Daven- 
port, and conducted much as it had been for ifo years in 
New England. This method is distinguished from both 
coast-whaling and deep-sea whaling. See vhalin'j. 
shoring 1 (shor'ing), (i. [Appar. < ikore 1 + 
-/(/-.] Awry; aslant. Halliirell. [Prov. Eng.j 
shoring- (shor'ing), n. [Verbal n. of shore 2 , v.] 
1. The act of supporting with shores or props. 
2. A number or set of shores or props taken 
collectively. 
shorl, shorlaceous. See schorl, schorlaceous. 
shorling (shor'ling), >i, [Also shoreline; < shore* 
(shorn) + -//H;/ 1 .] 1 . A sheep of the first year's 
shearing; a shearling; a newly shorn sheep. 
2. See the quotation. 
Shorling and morling, or mortling, are words to distin- 
guish fells of sheep, shorlinff being the fells after the 
fleeces are shorn off the sheep's back, and morling the 
fells flayed otf after they [the sheep] die or are killed. 
Timlin, Law Diet. (Latham.) 
3f. A shaveling: a contemptuous name for a 
monk or priest. 
After that this decree and doctrine of transubstantia- 
tion eame in, no crying out hath there been to receive it 
(no, that is the prerogative of the priests and shaven shor- 
ting*). J. Bradford, Works (Parker Soc., 1853), II. 276. 
This Babylonish whore, or disguised synagogue of shore- 
lings, sitteth upon many waters or peoples that are fan- 
tastical, fickle, or foolish. 
Up. Bale, Image of Both Churches, xvli. C. 
shorn (shorn). Past participle of shear 1 . 
short (short), a. and . [< ME. short, schort, 
scheort, ssort, sceort, scort, < AS. sceort, scort = 
OHG. scurz, short, = Icel. *skrtr, short (skortr, 
shortness); otherwise found only in derivatives 
(see short,v., shirt, skirt*-); rootunknown. The 
word represented by E. curt (= OS. kurt = 
OFries. hurt = D. kort = MLG. kort = OHG. 
cliur:, G. Tcurz = Icel. kortr = Sw. Dan. kort, < L. 
curtus, short) appears to have taken the place, 
in L. and G. and Scand., of the orig. Teut. adj. 
represented by short. The Teut. forms, AS. 
sceort. OHG. scurz, etc., are commonly sup- 
posed to be identical with L. curtus (assumed 
to stand for *scurtus), but the phonetic condi- 
tions do not agree (AS. t = L. rf). They are 
also supposed to be derived, with formative -to, 
from AS. sceran (pp. scoren), etc., cut, shear, as 
if lit. ' shorn' ; but the sense requires the forma- 
tive to be -d, E. -d 2 (as in old, cold, etc.), and 
the adj. word formed from sceran with this pp. 
suffix is in fact AS. sceard (see sharrli). The 
root of sceort remains unknown. Hence ult. 
shirt, skirt.} I. a. 1. Not long; having little 
length or linear extension : as, a short distance ; 
a short flight; a short stick or string. 
This Weye is most schort for to go streyghte unto Bahi- 
loyne. Mandeville, Travels, p. 56. 
Now draweth cut, er that we ferrer twynne ; 
He which that hath the shortest^ shal bigynne. 
Chaucer, Gen. 1'rol. to C. T., 1. 836. 
What is right and what is wrang? 
A short sword and a lang. 
Burns, Ye Jacobites by Name. 
2. Not tall; low in stature. 
Be merry, be merry, my wife has ail ; 
For women are shrews, both short and tall. 
Shale., 2 Hen. IV., v. 8. 36. 
The Nymph too short her Seat should seldom quit, 
Lest, when she stands, she may be thought to sit. 
Congrevf, tr. of Ovid's Art of Love, iii. 
3. Not long iii time; of brief duration. 
For but [unless] ich haue bote of mi bale, bi a schorl time, 
1 am ded as dore-nail. William ofPalerne(K E. T.S.),1. 028. 
The triumphing of the wicked is short. Job xx. 5. 
4. Not up to a required standard or amount ; 
not reaching a certain point ; lacking ; scant : 
insufficient; deficient: as, a short supply of 
provisions; short allowance of money; short 
weight or measure. 
She passes praise ; then praise too short doth blot 
Shak., I,. L. L., iv. 3. 241. 
Some silk they Ipeople of Chios] make, and some cottons 
here grow, but short in worth unto those of Smyrna. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 10. 
You have detected a baker in selling short weight; you 
prosecute him for the cheat. 
Bentham, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, xi. 24. 
In this sense much used predicatively, followed by of, in 
comparative statements, (a) Less than; inferior to: as. 
his escape was little shorl of a miracle. 
His brother . . . was no whit short of him in the know- 
ledge of fiod's will, though his youth kept him from dar- 
ing to offer himself to the congregation. 
WiiMrop, Hist. New England, 1. 149. 
One Snake, whom I have detected in a matter little 
*lii>rt f forgery. Sheridan, School for Scandal, iii. 1. 
(h) Inadequate to ; incommensurate to. 
Immoderate praises the foolish lover thinks short o/his 
mistress, though they reach far beyond the heavens. 
Sir J'. Sidney. 
That merit which with favour you enlarge 
Is far, far short of this propos'd reward. 
Beau, and Ft., Knight of Malta, I. 3. 
(c) On the hither side of; not up with or even with; not 
having reached or attained : as, you are short of the mark. 
The body of the maid was found by an Indian, about 
half a year after, in the midst of thick swamp, ten miles 
short of the place he said he left her in. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 290. 
Put a grasshopper on your hook, and let your hook hang 
a quarter of a yard short of the water. 
/. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 68. 
5. Deficient in wisdom or discretion; defec- 
tive ; at fault ; in error. 
My wit is short, ye may wel understonde. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 74fi. 
He was . . . shorte in resting on a verbal! order from 
them ; which was now denyd, when it came to a perticu- 
ler of loss. Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 282, note. 
In doctrine, they were in some things short; in other 
things, to avoid one extreme they ran into another. 
Penn, Rise and Progress of Quakers, i. 
6. Insufficiently provided or supplied (with); 
scantily furnished (with); not possessed of the 
required or usual quantity or amount (of): often 
with of: as, we have not received our allowance, 
we are still short; to be short of funds, mate- 
rials, or tools. 
Achates and his guest, 
. . . short of succours, and in deep despair, 
Shook at the dismal prospect of the war. 
Dryden, ^Eneid, viii. 690. 
Whether sea-going people were short of money about 
that time, or were short of faith, ... I don't know ; all I 
know is that there was but one solitary bidding. 
Dickens, David Copperneld, 1. 
7. In exchange transactions : (a) Noting some- 
thing that has been sold short (see under short, 
adv.); not in hand or possession when contract 
to deliver is made : as, short stocks. (6) Noting 
transactions in values not possessed at the time 
of contract, but to be procured before the time 
of delivery: as, short sales, (c) Not possessed 
of a sufficiency to meet one's engagements: 
with of: as, to be short of X preferred, (d) Of 
or pertaining to those who have sold short: as, 
the short interest in the market (that is, the 
"bears," or those persons who have sold short, 
and whose interest it is to depress prices). 
8. Not far in the future ; not distant in time ; 
near at hand. [Now rare.] 
Sore offended that his departure should be so short. 
Spenser. 
He commanded those who were appointed to attend 
him to be ready by a short day. Clarendon. 
9. Limited in power or grasp ; not far-reaching 
or comprehensive ; not tenacious or retentive : 
said of mental faculties: as, a short memory. 
Since their own short understandings reach 
No farther than the present. Since. 
10. Brief; not lengthy; concise, (o) Said of that 
which is spoken or written.' 
Sliort tale to make, we at Saint Alban's met. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 1. 120. 
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile 
The short and simple annals of the poor. 
Gray, Elegy, 
(b) Said of a speaker or writer. 
What 's your business ? 
And, pray ye, be short, good friends ; the time is precious. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, ii. 2. 
To be short, euery speach wrested from his owne natu- 
rail signification to another not altogether so naturall is a 
kinde of dissimulation, because the wordes beare contrary 
countenaunce to th' intent. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. l, r 5. 
My advice to you is only that in your pleadings you are 
short and expressive. Addison, Charge to the Jury. 
11. Curt; brief; abrupt; sharp; petulant; 
crusty; uncivil: as, a short answer. 
I will be bitter with him and passing short. 
Shak., As you Like it, iii. fl. 138. 
How, pretty sullenness, 
So harsh and short ! B. Jonson, Catiline, ii. 1. 
The French and English Ambassadors, interceding for a 
Peace, had a short. Answer of Philip II. 
Howell, Letters, I. II. 15. 
12. In archery, not shot far enough to reach 
the mark. 
Standinge betwixt two extremes, eschewing short, or 
gone, or either side wide. 
Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. 1864X p. 22. 
13. Brittle; friable; breaking or crumbling 
readily; inclined to flake off; defective in point 
"t coherence or adherence: as, pastry is made 
>ili nrt with butter or lard; iron is made cold- 
uliort by phosphorus, and hot-atari by sulphur; 
short 
the presence of coal-cinders makes mortar 
short. 
Wast thou fain, poor father, 
To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn, 
In shirrt and musty straw V Shak., Lear, iv. 7. 40. 
The rogue 's made of pie-crust, he 's so short. 
Hiialeton, Blurt, Master-Constable, i. 2. 
The flesh of him |the chub] is not firm, but short and 
tasteless. /. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 66. 
14. Not prolonged in utterance; less in dura- 
tion than times or sounds called long: said 
of times, vowels, and syllables. Specifically 
(a) In pros., not exceeding in duration the unit of time 
(mora, semeion), or so regarded. The ordinary short 
vowel of ancient pronunciation varied somewhat in ac- 
tual duration, but seems to have usually been uttered 
as rapidly as was consistent with full distinctness of 
sound^ (See long', n., 2.) Sometimes in metrical or 
rhythmical treatment a short syllable occupied less time 
in utterance than a normal short (was a diminished short, 
^payela /ij4eiu>neVi)), and in what is commonly known 
as elision the first of two vowel-sounds, although still 
audible, was shortened to such a degree as to be entirely 
disregarded in metrical composition. A syllable con- 
taining a short vowel was regarded as short unless the 
vowel stood in position (which see). Rhythmical or mu- 
sical composition occasionally allowed itself the liberty 
of treating a prosodic short as a long (an auginented short, 
/Jpaxeia r;i>f ijnei'i)), and vice versa. In metrical composi- 
tion a short syllable usually did not take the ictus ; hence, 
in modern versification, an unaccented syllable, whatever 
its duration, is said to be short. A short time, vowel, or 
syllable is marked by a curved line written independently 
or above the vowel : thus, *, A. 
What better [than a song will) teach the foreigner the 
tongue, 
What's long or short, each accent where to place? 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. i. 207. 
(ft) In Eng. orthorpy, noting the pronunciation of the 
vowels a, e, i, o, v. exemplified in the words fat, met, sit, 
not, nut. See longi,a., 5(6). 
15. Unmixed with water; undiluted; neat, as 
spirits; hence, strong: as, something short (a 
glass of spirits as distinguished from beer or 
other mild beverage). [Colloq.] 
"There an't no drain of nothing short handy, is there?" 
said the Chicken, generally. "This here sluicing night is 
hard lines." Dickens, Dombey and Son, xxxii. 
Come, Jack, shall us have a drop of some'at short? 
Trollope, Dr. Thome, xvii. 
16. Small (and hence portable). Halliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] A short bit. See KW.-A short 
horse Is soon curried, a simple matter or plain business 
is soon disposed of. At Short sight, a phrase noting a 
bill which is payable soon after being presented to the 
acceptor or payer. At short words*, briefly ; in short. 
At short wordes thou shall trowen me. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 956. 
In short meter. See meter?. short allowance, less 
than the usual or regular quantity served out, as the re- 
duced allowance to sailors or soldiers during a protracted 
voyage, march, siege, or the like, when the stock of pro- 
visions is running low, with no present prospect of a fresh 
supply. In the British navy officers and men are paid the 
nominal value of the provisions so stopped, snch sum be- 
ing called short-allowance money. Hence, a scanty supply 
of anything. Short and. Same as ampersand. Short 
appoggiatura. See appoggialura. Short bill, in com., 
a bill having less than ten days to run. Short Circuit, 
a shunt or side circuit of relatively low resistance connect- 
ing two points of an electric circuit so as to carry the 
greater part of the current. Short clothes, (a) Same 
as small-clothes. 
Will you wear the short clothes, 
Or will you wear the side? 
Earl Richard (Child's Ballads, III. 272). 
(6) The petticoats or the whole dress of young children 
who have left otf the long clothes of early infancy. Short 
coats, the shortened skirts of a young child when the long 
clothes of its earliest Infancy are discarded. Short com- 
missure. See commissure. Short commons. See 
commons. Short cross, in printing, the thick and short 
cross-bar of a chase. See chase'*,!. Shortcut. Seeeut,n., 
10. Short division, see division. Short elytra, in 
entom., elytra which cover less than half of the abdomen, 
as in the rove-beetles. Shorter Catechism. See cate- 
chism. Short fever. See /wi . Short gown, a full, 
loose jacket formerly worn with a skirt by women ; a 
bed-gown. 
Brisk withered little dames, in close crimped caps, long- 
waisted shortgowns, homespun petticoats, with scissors 
and pincushions and gay calico pockets hanging on the 
outside. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 439. 
Short haul. See long haul, under longl. Short hose, 
the stockings of the Scottish Highlander, reaching nearly 
to the knee ; a name originating in the sixteenth century 
or earlier, when Englishmen wore hose covering the 
thigh, leg, and foot in one piece, and perhaps used in dis- 
crimination from the trews. The short hose were com- 
monly cut from tartan cloth, and not knitted. Short lay. 
See lay!, 6. Short leet, meter, mordent. See the 
nouns. Short number, in printing, said of an edition 
of 250 copies or less. Short oat, octave. See the nouns. 
Short of. See defs. 4, 6, and 7. Short Parliament. 
See parliament. Short pull, in printing, a light impres- 
sion on a hand-press, which requires only a short pull of 
the bar. Short reduction, in logic. See reduction. 
Short rib. (a) One of the lower ribs, which are shorter 
than some of the upper ones, and do not reach to the 
breastbone ; a false rib, or floating rib. 
A gentleman was wounded in a duel : the rapier entered 
into his right side, slanting by his shortribs under the 
muscles. Wiseman, Surgery. 
(&) pi. The right or left hypochondrium ; the hypochon- 
driac region, where the short or floating ribs are. Short 
