shower 
But graceles gostis, golourB of hem-self, 
That neuere had harnesse ne \\ny\e-schmirig. 
Richard the Reddens, i. 26. 
Whan that Aprillc with his shoures soote 
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., L 1. 
Fast falls a fleecy show'r, the downy flakes 
Descending. Camper, Task, iv. 326. 
2. Figuratively, a fall of any liquid in drops, or 
of solid objects in large number. 
So fro heuen to belle that hatel schor [of Bends] laste. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 227. 
In the three and twentieth Year a Shower of Blood rained 
in the Isle of Wight two Hours together. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 69. 
How quick they wheel'd, and, flying, behind them shot 
Sharp sleet of arrowy showers against the face 
Of their pursuers. Milton, P. E., iii. 324. 
3. A copious supply bestowed; liberal distri- 
bution. 
Sweet Highland girl, a very shower 
Of beauty is thy earthly dower ! 
Wordsworth, To .a Highland Girl. 
4. In pyrotechny, a device in which small stars 
of a slow-burning composition fall from rockets 
or shells, presenting the appearance of a shower 
of fire. 5f. An attack; an assault; a conflict; 
a battle. 
To put the of peril i haue ney perisched oft, 
And many a scharp schour for t hi sake tholed. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 4614. 
In the laste shour, soth for to telle, 
The folk of Troye hemselven so mysledden 
That with the worse at nyght homeward they fledden. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 47. 
Than thei yaf hem a sharpe shour that the! were discou- 
nted and chaced oute of the place. 
Merlin (E. E. T. 8.), ii. 363. 
Meteoric showers. See meteoric. 
shower 1 (shou'er), r. [Early mod. E. also 
xhowre; < shower 1 , .] I. trans. 1. To water 
with or as with a shower; wet copiously with 
rain. 
Or serve they as a flowery verge to bind 
The fluid skirts of that same watery cloud, 
Lest it again dissolve, and shmcer the earth? 
Milton, P. L., xl. 883. 
2. Hence, to wet copiously with water or other 
liquid in the form of spray or in drops : as, to 
shower plants from a watering-pot; to shower 
one's head in bathing; to shower a convict as 
a punishment. 3. To discharge in a shower; 
pour down copiously and rapidly; bestow lib- 
erally; distribute or scatter in abundance. 
Once more 
I shower a welcome on ye. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 4. 63. 
We thoicer'd darts 
Upon them, but in vain ; they reach'd their ships. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, v. 4. 
On their naked limbs the flowery roof 
Shower'd roses. Milton, P. L., iv. 773. 
II. intrans. To rain in showers; fall as a 
shower: as, tears showered down his cheeks. 
Sir, all the accumulations of honour showre down upon 
you. Brorne, Northern Lass, v. 2. 
Before me shower'd the rose in flakes. 
Tennyson, Princess, iv. 
shower 2 (sho'er), n. [Also, archaically, shewer; 
< ME. shewer, seheicer, a shower, a looking-glass, 
< AS. sceawere, a looker, spy, < scedirian, look, 
see, show: see show 1 . For the sense 'looking- 
glass,' cf. OHG. seuear, scuehar, a looking-glass : 
see under show 1 .'] 1. One who or that which 
shows or exhibits. In Scots law, showers in Jury 
causes are two persons named by the court, usually on the 
suggestion of the parties, to accompany the jurors when 
a view of the property which the cause relates to is al- 
lowed. See viewer. 
It [the star of Bethlehem] schon to the schepherdes a 
schewer of blisse. Piers Plowman (B), xii. 163. 
To check this, the mayor was commanded, if any such 
reports or writings got abroad, to examine as to the first 
showers and utterers thereof, whom, when found, he was 
to commit to prison and sharply to punish, as an example 
to others. J. Gairdner, Bichard III., vi. 
2f. A looking-glass ; a mirror. 
He made a brasun lauatorye, with his foot, of the shew- 
ers of wymmen. Wyclif, Ex. xxxviii. 8. 
He puttyth in hys pawtener 
A kerchyf and a comb, 
A shewer, and coyf 
To bynd with hys loks. 
Poem on the Times of Edwd. II. (ed. Hardwick), st. 16. 
shower-bath (shou'er-bath), n. 1. A bath in 
which water is showered upon the person from 
above. 2. An apparatus for pouring a shower 
of water upon the body. 
showeriness (shou'er-i-nes), n. The state of 
being showery. 
showerless (shou'er-les), o. [(.shower 1 + -less.'] 
Without showers. 
5596 
Scarce in a shoit'erlestt day the heavens indulge 
Our melting clime. 
Armstrong, Art of Preserving Health, i. 
showery (shou'er-i), a. [< shower 1 , n., + -y 1 .] 
1. Raining in showers; abounding with fre- 
quent falls of rain. 
Murranus came from Anxur's showery height. 
Addison, Remarks on Italy (Works, ed. Bohn, I. 423). 
2. Like a shower; frequent or abounding, like 
the drops in a shower. 
Dew'd with showery drops, 
Up-clomb the shadowy pine. 
Tennyson, Lotos- Eaters. 
showfullyHsho'ful-i), adv. [< *shoicful(<ifhoic l 
[< *sh 
howil 
The Torch-bearers habits were likewise of the Indian 
garb, but more strauagant than those of the Maskers ; all 
showfully garnisht with seueral-hewd fethers. 
Chapman, Masque of the Middle Temple and Lincoln's 
[Inn. 
show-glass (sho'glas), a. 1. A glass in which 
something is seen; a mirror; especially, a magic 
mirror, or a glass in which things not present 
are made to appear. 2. A show-case. 
The maid, who views with pensive air 
The show-glass fraught with glitt'ring ware, 
Sees watches, bracelets, rings, and lockets. 
Cowper, Pineapple and Bee. 
showily (sho'i-li), adv. In a showy manner; 
pompously; with parade. 
showiness (sho'i-nes), n. The state of being 
showy ; pompousness ; great parade. 
showing (sho'ing), . [Also, archaically, shew- 
ing ; < ME. shewing, schewynqe, < AS. scedwunr/, 
verbal n. of scedwian, look, show : see show 1 , t'.] 
1. Appearance; coming into view. 
And the child ... was in the deserts till the day of his 
shewing unto Israel. Luke i. 80. 
2f. Aspect; looks. 
Thanne, al abawed in shewing, 
Anoon spak Drede, right thus seiyng. 
Rom. of the Rose, \. 4041. 
3. A setting forth or demonstration by words : 
as, he is wrong by his own showing. 
The first remark which . . . suggests itself is that, on 
this showing, the notes at least of private banks are not 
money. J. S. Mill, Pol. Econ., III. xii. 7. 
4f. A warning ; a prophecy. Halliwell. 
shpwing-off (sho'ing-of), n. 1. Ostentatious 
display. 2. In a specific use, technical in or- 
nithology, the peculiar actions or attitudes of 
many male birds in mating, when such are very 
marked or conspicuous; amatory antics or dis- 
play. The showiug-ofl is a characteristic habit of the 
peacock, turkey, and many other gallinaceous birds (see 
cut under peafotrl) ; of some pigeons (pouters are devel- 
oped from this trait, for example); of the bustards, in 
some of which the inflation of the neck becomes enor- 
mous ; of various waders (the cut under ruff shows the 
ruff in the act); and of the sand-hill and other cranes, etc. 
showish (sho'ish), a. [< show 1 + -fg/il.] Showy ; 
gaudy; ostentatious. [Rare.] 
They are as showish, and will look as magnificent, as if 
he was descended from the blood royal. 
Swift, Bickerstalf Papers. 
showman (sho'man), n.; pi. showmen (-men). 
[< shoiv 1 + man. 1 ] One who exhibits a show, 
especially the proprietor of a traveling exhibi- 
tion. 
shown (shon). A past participle of shoic 1 . 
show-place (sho'plas), n. 1. A place for pub- 
lic exhibitions. 2. A gymnasium (which see). 
[Rare.] 
The common show-place where they exercise. 
Shak., A. and C., iii. 6. 12. 
show-room (sho'rom), n. 1. A room or apart- 
ment in which a show is exhibited. 
The dwarf kept the gates of the show-room. Arbuthnot. 
2. A room or apartment, as in a warehouse, 
where goods are displayed to the best advantage 
to attract purchasers ; or, in a hotel, an apart- 
ment set aside for the use of commercial trav- 
elers, in which they can exhibit samples to their 
customers. 
Miss Knag darted hastily up stairs with a bonnet in 
each hand, and presented herself in the show-room. 
Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xviii. 
show-stone (sho'ston), . A polished quartz 
crystal serving as a magic mirror in certain in- 
cantations. 
Among these [Dr. Dee's magical apparatus] was a .-/<- 
stone, or an angelical mirror, placed on a pedestal. . . . 
E. E., looking into the showstone, said, "I see a garland 
of white rose-buds about the border of the stone ; they be 
well opened, but not full out." 
I. D'Israfli, Amen, of Lit., II. 296, 298. 
Showtet, r. and n. 
of shunt. 
A Middle English spelling 
shrapnel 
show-up (sho'up), n. Exposure of something 
concealed, as a fraud or an absurdity, to ridi- 
cule or animadversion. [Colloq.] 
We can forgive Samuel Johnson the mode he adopted 
of expressing his apprehensions of Foote's satire, because 
it was immediate, and treading closely on the heels of a 
threatened show up. 
Jon Bee, Essay on Samuel Foote, p. Ixxvii. 
show-window (sh6'win"do), n. A window in 
a shop arranged for the display of goods. 
Showy (sho'i), a. [< show 1 + -i/ 1 .] 1. Making 
a show or striking appearance ; gay; brilliant; 
gaudy; effective. 
The men would make a present of everything that was 
rich and showy to the women whom they most admired. 
Addiwn, Spectator, No. 434. 
In Europe our golden-rod is cultivated in the flower- 
gardens, as well it might be. The native species is found 
mainly in woods, and is much less showy than ours. 
J. Burroughs, The Century, XX. 100. 
2. Given to show or display ; ostentatious. 
The effect of "moral " interests appears in habits with- 
out which the scholar or artist is not properly free for his 
work, nor exempt from the temptation to be showy instead 
of thorough in it. 
T. U. Green, Prolegomena to Ethics, 148. 
She was so used now to the ways of the Italians, and 
their shmvy affection, it was hard for her to realize that 
people could be both kind and cold. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 136. 
Showy orchis. See Orchis, 2. = Svn. Gorgeous, magnifi- 
cent, sumptuous, pompous, grand, flashy, glaring, garish, 
dressy. 
show-yard (sho'yard), n. An inclosure for the 
exhibition of horses, stock, machinery, or other 
large objects at a show. 
The railway was pitched down, so to speak, anyhow in 
the showyard. The Engineer, LXVIII. 13. 
The great agricultural societies . . . began ... to offer 
prizes at their shows for milch cows and dairy produce, 
and to exhibit a working dairy in the showyard. 
Quarterly Rev., CXLV. 298. 
shrab (shrab), . [< Hind, shardb, wine, spiritu- 
ous liquor, < Ar. sharab : see shrulft, sherbet.] 
Sherbet ; hence, wine or spirits. 
"Of what caste are you?" asked an Englishman of a 
native of India. "Oh, replied the native, "I'm a Chris- 
tianI take brandy shrab and get drunk, like you." 
Nature, XXXVIII. 269. 
When I tasted the brandy, he said it was Shrub (the 
general name for wine and spirits). 
Proc. Soc. Psych. Research, II. 20. 
shrag (shrag), n. [< ME. schragge, an assibi- 
lated form of scrag 1 .] 1. Something lopped 
off; a clipping; especially, a twig. [Prov. Eng.] 
" Yar linrm owt ta ha' fine shrugs." This was said to a 
man about to dress recently thrashed barley for market. 
The clippings of live fences. Moor, Suffolk Words. 
2. A rag; a jagged piece. 
With flatte ferthynges the f reke was floreschede alle over, 
Many schredys and schragges at his skyrttes hynnges. 
Marte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3474. 
shragt (shrag), v. t. [Also dial, shreg, shrig; < 
ME.schraggett; <.shrag, .] Toclip; lop ; shred; 
also, to ornament with tags or shreds. Prompt. 
Parv., p. 448. 
A red hod on hir heved, shragid al of shridis, 
With a riche riban gold be-gon. 
MS. Arund. Coll. Arm., 27, f. ISO. (Halliwell.) 
To shrag trees, arbores putare. Baret. 
shraggert (shrag'er), 11. [< ME. schreggare; < 
shrug, t., 4- -er 1 .] One who lops; one who 
trims trees. Huloet. 
shram (shram), v. t. [An assibilated form of 
"scram, var. of * scrim, scrimp : see scrimp.] 
To cause to shrink or shrivel, as with cold ; 
benumb. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
shrank (shrangk). A preterit of shrink. 
shrap 1 (shrap), . [Origin obscure.] A thicket. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
shrap 2 (shrap), n. Same as scrap 3 . 
You fell, like another dove, by the most chaffy shrap 
that ever was set before the eyes of winged fowl. 
Bp. Bedell, Letters (1620), p. 339. 
Setting silver lime twigs to entangle young gentlemen, 
and casting foorth silken shraps to catch woodcocks. 
Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, p. 15. 
shrape (shrap), v. t. and i. [< ME. shrapen, 
an assibilated form of scrape 1 , q. v.] If. To 
scrape. 
For lat a dronken daffe in a dyke falle, . . . 
And Shame shrapeth his clothes and his shynes wassheth. 
Piers Plowman (B), xi. 423. 
Herly in the morowe to shrapyn in the vale, 
To fynde my dyner amonge the wormes smale. 
Lydgate, The Chorle and the Bird. 
2. To scold. [Prov. Eng.] 
shrapnel (shrap'nel), n. [Named after the Brit- 
ish Gen. Shrapnel (died 1842).] A shell filled 
with bullets and a small bursting-charge just 
sufficient to split it open and release the bullets 
at any given point, generally about 80 yards be- 
