shunt 
itself prob. a variant (due to association with 
shun) of *sliinden (of. xhutten, var. of shitten, 
shut), < AS. scyndan, hasten (in eomp. a-scii>i<lnii, 
take away, remove), = OHG. seuntan, urge on, 
= Icel. skynda, skunda = Norw. skunda = Sw. 
skynda = Dan. skynde, hasten, hurry, speed; 
prob. connected (at least later so regarded) 
withs/mx: see shun.'] I. intrans. 1. To start 
aside or back; shrink back; flinch; of a horse, 
to shy. [Obsolete or pro v. Eug.] 
Ne beo nawt the skerre hors iliche that schuntes. 
Ancren Iliwle, p. 242, note d. 
With sliame may thou shunt fro thi shire otlies, 
So fals to be founden, <te thi faithe breike. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 729. 
The kynge schonte for no schotte, ne no schelde askys, 
Bot schewes hym scharpely in his sehene wedys. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2428. 
2. To turn back or away; turn aside. 
Ne shamys you not shalkes to shunt of the flld, 
Ffor the weiknes of wemen woundis a litell ! 
Turnes yow full tyte, & taries a while. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 10998. 
Then I drew me down into a dale, whereas the dumb deer 
Did shiver for a shower ; but I shunted from a freyke. 
Little John Nobody (about 1550). (Halliwell.) 
.Specifically (a) In rail., to turn from one line of rails to 
another; switch. [Chiefly Eug.] (6) In elect., to use a 
shunt. See shunt, n., 3. 
3f. To escape, 
ga werpes tham [the gates] up quoth the wee, and wide 
open settes, 
If at ge schap jow to schonnt unschent of oure handes. 
King Alexander, p. 73. 
4. To turn aside from a topic, purpose, line of 
thought, course of action, etc.; shift one's 
thoughts, conversation, proceedings, etc., into 
a different direction. 5f. To hold back; de- 
lay. 
Qwene alle was schyppede that scholde, they schounte no 
lengere, 
Bot ventelde theme tyte, as the tyde rynnez. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 736. 
6. To slip down, as earth. Hattiwell. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
II. trans. 1. To shun; move from. [Prov. 
Eng.] 2. To move or. turn aside. Specifically 
(a) In rail., to shift (a railway-train, or part of it) from the 
main line to a siding; switch off. [Chiefly Eng.] (6) In 
elect., to shift to another circuit, as an electric current ; 
carry off or around by means of a shunt ; join to points in 
a circuit by a shunt : as, to shunt a current. 
This interpolar resistance is made up of the connecting 
wires, of whatever resistance is interposed, and that of 
the shunted galvanometer. 
J. Trowbridge, New Physics, p. 256. 
3. To give a start to; shove. Bailey, 1731. 
[Prov. Eng.] Hence 4. To shove off; put out 
of one's way ; free one's self of, as of anything 
disagreeable, by putting it upon another. 
It is not wonderful that old-fashioned believers in " Prot- 
estantism " should shunt the subject of Papal Christian- 
ity into the Limbo of unknowable things, and treat its re- 
nascent vitality as a fact of curious historical reversion. 
Cardinal Manning. 
He had assumed that she had also assimilated him, and 
his country with him a process which would have for its 
consequence that the other country, the ugly, vulgar, su- 
perfluous one, would be, as he mentally phrased it to him- 
self, shunted. H. James, Jr., Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 108. 
5. To ward off injury, trouble, or danger from ; 
remove from a position of trouble or danger. 
And let other men aunter, abill therfore, 
ft'or to shunt vs of shame, shend of our f oos, 
And venge vs of velany & of vile gremy. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2544. 
The dislocation of the real and the ideal the harsh 
shock of which comes on most men before forty makes 
him look out all the more keenly for the points where he 
can safely shunt himself. 
Dr. J. Brown, Spare Hours, 3d ser., Post-Pref. 
shunt (shunt), n. [< ME. schunt; < shunt, v.'] 
If. A drawing or turning back. 
Oawayn . . . schranke alytel with the schulderes, for the 
scharp yrne. 
That other schalk wyth a schunt the sehene wyth-haldez 
& thenne repreued he the prynce with mony prowde 
wordez. 
Sir Oawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2268. 
2. A turning aside ; specifically, in rail, a turn- 
ing off to a siding, or short line of rails, that the 
main line may be left clear. 3. In elect., a con- 
ductor, usually of relatively low resistance, join- 
ing two points in an electric circuit, and form- 
ing a desired circuit or path through which a 
part of the current will pass, the amount de- 
pending on the relative resistance of the shunt 
and that part of the principal circuit whose ex- 
tremities itconnects. Any number of shunts may be 
applied to a conductor, and the current distributed among 
them in any desired manner. The current passing through 
a galvanometer or other measuring-instrument may be re- 
duced in any desired degree by the introduction of a shunt ; 
and the factor by which the current indicated by the in- 
5605 
strument must be multiplied in order to give the total 
current is called the shunt-multiplier. See/iWd shunt, un- 
der field. Shunt dynamo. See dynamo, and electric 
machine- (under electric). 
shunter (shun'ter), n. [< shunt + -!.] 1. 
One who or that which shunts; specifically, a 
railway-servant whose duty it is to move the 
switches which transfer a train or carriage from 
one line to another. 2. A hand-lever used to 
start and move a railroad-car, it is fitted with a 
hook to be slipped over the car-axle, and a lug to press 
against the face of the wheel. Sec pinch-bar and car- 
starter. 
shunt-gun (shunt'gun), . A muzzle-loading 
rifled cannon with two sets of grooves, one 
deeper than the other. Bosses or studs on the pro- 
jectile flt the deeper grooves loosely and lie in these while 
the projectile is being driven home, and at the breech of 
the gun the projectile is revolved slightly, so that the 
bosses correspond with the shallower grooves, and it binds 
on these strongly when expelled by the charge. 
shunting-engine (shun'ting-en"jin), H. A yard- 
engine or switching-engine. [Eng.] 
Shunt-off (shunt'of), n. In elect., a shunt, or a 
device for introducing a shunt. 
At present we have to deal simply with the shunl-ofs 
and cut-outs. Elect. Rev. (Eng.), XXVI. 143. 
shunt-Out (shunt'out), n. Same as shunt-off. 
In most instances these shunt-outs are self-restoring or 
permanently acting, and do not break the circuit. 
Elect. Jtev. (Eng.), XXVI. 143. 
shunty (shun'ti), a. Same as shanty 1 . 
shure (shiir). A Scotch form of shore, preterit 
of shear 1 . 
Robin shure in hairst, 
I shure wi' him. 
Burns, Robin Shure in Hairst. 
shurf (sherf), n. [Perhaps a particular use of 
scurf 1 . Of. shruff 1 .] A puny, insignificant 
person ; a dwarf. [Scotch.] 
When Andrew Pistolfoot used to come stamplin' in to 
court me i' the dark, I wad hae cried, . . . Get away wi' 
ye, ye bowled-like shurf! 
Hogg, Brownie of Bodsbeck, II. 226. (Jamieson.) 
shurkt, v. i. An obsolete spelling of shirk. 
shurl, v. t. See shirl' 2 . 
shut 1 (shut), v. ; pret. and pp. shut, ppr. shutting. 
[Also dial, shet; < ME. shutten, schutten, shet- 
ten, shitten, schitteit (pret. shutte, shette, shitte, 
pp. shut, shet, etc.), < AS. scyttan, shut, bar (= 
D. schutten, shut in, lock up, = MLG. schutten 
= MHG, schutzen, G. schutzen, shut in (water), 
dam, protect, guard); a secondary form, lit. 
'cause (so. a bar or bolt) to shoot' (push a bar 
or bolt into its staple), of scedtan (pret. scofen), 
shoot ; or perhaps lit. 'bar,' 'bolt,' from a noun, 
AS. as if *scut, a bar, bolt (cf . "scytels, scyttels, 
a bar, bolt of a door : see shuttle 1 ), = MD. schut, 
an arrow, dart, = OHG. scuz, a quick move- 
ment, = Dan. skud, a bar, bolt of a door (the 
D. sdM<<, a fence, partition, screen, = MHG. 
schuz, a dam, guard, protection, G. schutz, a 
dam, dike, mole, fence, sluice, protection, de- 
fense, is rather from the verb); lit. 'a thing 
that shoots or moves quickly,' < AS. sceotan 
(pp. scoten), etc., shoot: see shoot."] I. trans. 
1 . To shoot, as the bar or bolt or other fasten- 
ing of a door or gate, or of a chest, etc. ; push 
to ; adjust in position so as to serve as a fas- 
tening. 
This angels two drogen loth [Lot] in, 
And shetten to the dure-pin. 
Genesis and Exodus (E. E. T. S.), 1. 107a 
To the trunk again, and shut the spring of it. 
Shak., Cymbeline, ii. 2. 47. 
2. To make fast by means of a bolt, bar, or the 
like ; hence, in later use, to close, with or with- 
out fastening; place in or over a place of en- 
trance so as to obstruct passage in or out: as, 
to shut a door, gate, lid, cover, etc. : often fol- 
lowed by down, to, or up. 
As doujti men of dedes defence for to make 
gerne schetten here sates & jemed the walles. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3267. 
With that word his countour dore he shette. 
Chaucer, Shipman's Tale, 1. 249. 
This powerful key 
Into my hand was given, with charge to keep 
These gates forever shut. Milton, P. L., ii. 776. 
3. To prevent passage through; cover; ob- 
struct ; block : sometimes followed by up. 
Shet was every wyndow of the place. 
Chaucer, Troilus, v. 634. 
When the other way by the Narve was quite shult upp, 
. . . they should assnre themselves neither to have the 
English nor any other Marchant to trade that way to the 
Port of St. Nicholas. 
G. Fletcher (Elite's Literary Letters, p. 83). 
Third Watch. 'Tis to be doubted he would waken him. 
First Watch. Unless our halberds did shut wp his passage. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI.. iv. 3. 20. 
shut 
Their success was very near doing honour to their Ave 
Marias; for, . . . shutting up their windows to prevent 
any of their lights from being seen, they had some chance 
of escaping ; but a small crevice in one of the shutters 
rendered all their invocations ineffectual. 
Anson, Voyages, ii. 5. 
4. To close the entrance of ; prevent access to 
or egress from: as, to shut a house ; to shut a 
box ; to shut one's ears : often followed by up. 
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the 
days of their prophecy. Rev. xi. 6. 
Hell, her numbers full, 
Thenceforth shall be for ever shut. 
XUton,P.L., Hi. 333. 
She . . . shut the chamber up, close, hush'd, and still. 
Keats, Lamia, ii. 
5. To bring together the parts of. (a) To bring 
together the outer parts or covering of, as when inclosing 
something : as, to shut the eyelids, or, as more commonly 
expressed, to shut the eyes (hence, also, to shut the sight). 
He hedde thet mestier [craft] uor to ssette the porses of 
the wrechchen thet hi ne ssolle by open to do elmesse. 
Ayenbite of Inwyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 188. 
Therwith a thousand tymes, er he lette, 
He kiste tho the letre that he shette. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1090. 
Let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Ps. Ixix. 15. 
She left the new piano shut. Tennyson, Talking Oak. 
I shut my sight for fear. Tennyson, (Enone. 
(6) To fold or bring together ; bring into narrow compass 
from a state of expansion : as, to shut a parasol ; to shut a 
book. 
The happiest youth, viewing his progress through, 
What perils past, what crosses to ensue, 
Would shut the book [of fate], and sit him down and die. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iii. 1. 56. 
"A lawyer may well envy your command of language, 
Mr. Holt," said Jermyn, pocketing his bills again, and 
shutting up his pencil. George Eliot, Felix Holt, xvii. 
6. To bar or lock in ; hence, to confine ; hem 
in ; inclose ; environ ; surround or cover more 
or less completely : now always followed by a 
preposition or an adverb, as in, into, among, 
up, down, etc. 
Crysede also, right in the same wise, 
Of Troylus gan in hire herte shette 
His worthinesse, his lust, his dedes wyse. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 1549. 
Having shut them mder our Tarpawling, we put their 
hats vpon stickes by the Barges side. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's True Travels, I. 181. 
He pass'd, shut up in mysteries, 
His mind wrapp'd like his mantle. Keats, Lamia, i. 
7. To bar out; separate by barriers; put or 
keep out; exclude, either literally or figura- 
tively; preclude: followed by an adverb or a 
preposition denoting separation. 
In such a night 
To shut me out! Shah., Lear, iii. 4. 18. 
If any one misbehave himself, they shut him out of their 
Company. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 89. 
Shut from every shore and barred from every coast. 
Dryden, jEneid, i. 321. 
8. To catch and pinch or hold fast by the act 
of shutting something: as, to shut one's fingers 
or one's dress in a door; to shut one's glove in 
a window. 9. To do; manage. Hattiwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] 10. To weld (iron). Halliwell. 
See to shut up (c), and shutting, n. [Prov. Eng.] 
To shut in the land. See landl. To shut off, to turn 
off ; prevent the passage of, as gas or steam, by closing a 
valve, or in some other way. To shut one's eyes to, to 
be blind to ; overlook or disregard intentionally : as, to shut 
one's eyes to disagreeable facts. To shut up. (fflt) To con- 
clude ; terminate ; end. 
To shut up what I have to say concerning him, which 
is sad, he is since become a sordid man in his life. 
N. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 206. 
I shall now shut up the arguing part of this discourse 
with a short application. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. i. 
(6) To reduce to inaction or silence, especially the latter. 
It shuts them up. They haven't a word to answer. 
Dickens, Little Dorrit, i. 13. 
A mere child in argument, and unable to foresee that 
the next "move "(to use a Platonic expression) will "shut 
him up." Jou'ett, tr. of Plato's Dialogues, III. 8. 
(c) To unite, as two pieces of metal by welding. To shut 
up shop. SeesAopi. 
II. intrans. I. To be a means of bolting, 
locking, or closing. 
Two massy keys he bore of metals twain ; 
The golden opes, the iron shuts amain. 
Milton, Lycidas, 1. 111. 
2. To close itself ; be closed: as, the door *Ate 
of itself; certain flowers *'/<< at night and open 
in the day. 
A gulf that ever shuts and gapes. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixx. 
3. To be extravagant. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
To shut down, to stop working ; become or be idle: 
as, the mill will shut down for the next two weeks. [Col- 
loo,.] To shut down on or upon, to put an end to ; sup- 
press; stop. [Colloq.] 
He shut down upon his wrath, and pleaded with all the 
ingenuity he was master of. The Century, XXXVII. 885. 
