shuttlecock 
Shuttlecock (slmt'1-kok), w. [Early mod. E. 
also shuttel-eock, skittleoock, shyttteeocke, ahyttcl- 
cocke (also sliiltleeork, which some suppose to 
be the orig. form); < shuttle 1 + cock 1 (used 
vaguely, as in other compounds). Cf . shuttle*, 
n., 7.] 1. A piece of cork, or of similar light 
material, in one end of which feathers are stuck, 
made to be struck by a battledore in play ; also, 
the play or game. See phrase below. 
But and it were well sought, 
I trow nil wyll be nought, 
Nat worth a shyttel cocke. 
Sleetton, Why Come ye nat to Court? 1. 361. 
A thousand waves lie them could entertaine, 
With all the thriftles games that may be found; . . . 
With dice, with cards, with halliards farre unfit, 
With shuttelcocks, misseeming mantle wit. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 804. 
In the " Two Maids of Moreclacke," a comedy printed 
in 1609, it is said, "To play at shuttle-cock methinkes is 
the game now." Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 401. 
2. A malvaceous shrub, Periptera punicea of 
Mexico, the only species of a still dubious ge- 
nus. It has crimson flowers and a many-celled 
radiate capsule, one or other suggesting the 
name. Battledore and shuttlecock, a game played 
with a shuttlecock and battledores by two players or 
sides. The shuttlecock is knocked back and forth from one 
player or side to the other, until one fails to return it. 
shuttlecock (shut'1-kok), v. t. [< shuttlecock, 
n.] To throw or bandy backward and forward 
like a shuttlecock. 
" Dishonour to me ! sir, " exclaims the General. " Yes, 
if the phrase is to be ehuttlecocked between us ! " I answered 
hotly. Thackeray, Virginians, Ixxvii. 
On the other hand, that education should be shuttle- 
cocked by party warriors is the worst evil that we have to 
endure. The Academy, April 6, 1889, p. 235. 
shuttlecorkt (shut'l-k6rk), n. Same as shuttle- 
cock. Also shittlecork. 
How they have shuffled up the rushes too, Davy, 
With their short figging little shitUecork heels ! 
Middleton, Chaste Maid, iii. 2. 
shuttle-crab (shut'1-krab), M. A paddle-crab; 
a pinniped or fin-footed crab, having some of 
the legs fitted for swimming, as the common 
edible crab of the United States, Callinectes 
hastatlis. When taken from the water they flap their 
legs energetically, suggesting the flying of shuttles. See 
cut under paddle-crab. 
shuttle-headt (shut'1-hed), n. A nighty, in- 
considerate person. 
I would wish these shuttle-heads, that desire to rake in 
the embers of rebellion, to give over blowing the coals 
too much, lest the sparks fly in their faces, or the ashes 
choke them. 
Ttnn Nash his Ghost, p. 10. (Old Book Coll. MisceU.) 
shuttle-headedt (shut'l-hed"ed), a. [Early 
mod. E. also shittleheaded ; < shuttle 1 * + head + 
-ed?.] Flighty; thoughtless; foolish. Halli- 
well. 
shuttle-motion (shut'l-mo"shon), re. An auto- 
matic mechanism for controlling the different 
shuttles in a shuttle-box, as in figure-weaving, 
so that they may pass through the shed in a 
predetermined order. 
shuttlenesst (shut'1-nes), re. [Early mod. E. 
shittlenesse, shyttelnessc ; < shuttle* + -ness.'] 
Rashness ; thoughtlessness ; flightiness ; un- 
steadiness. Palsgrave. 
The vaine shittlenesse of an unconstant head. 
Baret, 1580. (Halliwell.) 
shuttle-race (shut'1-ras), n. A sort of smooth 
shelf in a weavers' lay, along which the shuttle 
runs in passing the weft. 
shuttle-shaped (shut'l-shapt), a. Shaped like 
a shuttle ; fusiform Shuttle-shaped dart, a Brit- 
ish moth, Agrotis puta. 
shuttle-shell (shut'1-shel), n. A gastropod of 
the family OmiUda and genus Radius, as R. vol- 
va, of long fu- 
siform shape, 
the ends of 
the lips being 
greatly drawn 
out: so called 
from the resemblance to a weavers' shuttle. 
shuttle-train (shut'1-tran), n. A train running 
back and forth for a short distance like a shut- 
tle, as over a track connecting a main line with 
a station at a short distance from it. 
shuttle-winder (shut'l-w!n"der), n. An at- 
tachment to a sewing-machine for reeling the 
thread upon shuttles. See bobbin-winder. 
shuttlewise (shut'1-wlz), adv. Like a shuttle ; 
with the motion of a shuttle. 
Life built herself a myriad forms, 
And, flashing her electric spark, . . . 
Flew shuttleicise above, beneath, 
Weaving the web of life and death. 
Atheneeum, No. 3221, p. 87. 
Shuttle-shell (Radius volva}, one third 
natural size. 
5607 
shuttle-Wit (shut'1-wit), . A shuttle-brained 
person. 
Now, those poor shuttle-u-its of Babbletown, that had been 
so a-singlng that high and mighty gentleman's praises to 
the skies, they were a bit took a-back by this behavior 
as one might plainly see. St. Nicholas, XVII. 554. 
Shuttle-witted (slmt'l-wit"ed), a. [Early mod. 
E. also shittlewitted ; < ME. scliyttyl-wytli/il ; 
< shuttle? + wit + -crf2.] Shuttle-brained; 
flighty; foolish. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
I am aferd that Jon of Sparham is so schyttyl-wyttt/d 
that he wyl sett hys gode to morgage to Heydon, or to 
sum other of ywre gode frendys. 1'aston Letters, I. 69. 
I wondered what had called forth in a lad so shuttle-mt- 
ted this enduring sense of duty. R. L. Stevenson, Olaila. 
shwanpan, swanpan (shwan'pan, swan'pan), 
n. [Chinese, lit. 'reckoning-board.' < shicini, 
swan, reckon, + pan, a board.] The abacus 
or reckoning-board in use among the Chinese. 
Called in Japanese soroban. See abacus. 
shy 1 (shi), a. ; compar. shyer, superl. shyest 
(sometimes shier and shiest). [Early mod. E. 
also shie; Sc. skey, skeigh; < ME. *shey, schey, 
also skey, skygg (< Sw.), earlier sceouh, shy, timid, 
scrupulous, < AS. sccoh = D. schuw = MLG. 
sehuwe = OHG. *scioh, MHG. schiech (G. scheit, 
after the verb and noun) = Sw. skygg, dial, sky 
= Dan. sky, shy, timid, skittish. Hence shy 1 , v. 
From OHG. comes It. schiuo = Sp. esquivo, shy.] 
1. Readily frightened away; easily startled; 
skittish; timid. 
Loketh thet ge ne beon nont iliche the horse thet is 
scheouh, and biencheth uor one scheadewe upo the heie 
brugge. Ancren Riwle, p. 24i 
Maggie coost her head fu' heigh, 
Look'd asklent an' unco skeigh. 
Burns, Duncan Gray. 
The antelope are getting continually shyer and more dif- 
ficult to flag. T. Roosevelt, Hunting Trips, p. 195. 
2. Shrinking from familiarity or self-assertive- 
ness; sensitively timid ; retiring; bashful; coy. 
A shy fellow was the duke ; and I believe I know the 
cause of his withdrawing. Shak., M. for M., iii. 2. 138. 
She [the Venus de Medicis] is represented in ... a shy, 
retiring posture, and covers her bosom with one of her 
hands. Addison, Guardian, No. 100. 
She had heard that Miss Darcy was exceedingly proud ; 
but the observation of a very few minutes convinced her 
that she was only exceedingly shy. 
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, xliv. 
3. Keeping away from some person or thing 
through timidity or caution; fearful of ap- 
proaching ; disposed to avoid : followed by of. 
The merchant hopes for a prosperous voyage, yet he is 
shy of rocks and pirates. Rev. T. Adams, Works, III. 96. 
They [negroes] were no way shy of us, being well ac- 
quainted with the English, by reason of our Guinea Fac- 
tories and Trade. Dampier, Voyages, I. 78. 
The two young men felt as shy of the interview with 
their master under such unusual relations of guest and 
host as a girl does of her first party. 
Mrs. Qaskell, Sylvia's Lovers, xiv. 
4. Cautious; wary; careful: commonly followed 
by of or about. 
We grant, although he had much wit, 
He was very shy of using it. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, 1. 1. 46. 
Opium ... is prohibited Goods, and therefore, tho many 
asked for it, we were shy of having it too openly known 
that we had any. Dampier, Voyages, II. i. 160. 
We have no such responsible party leadership on this 
side the sea ; we are very shy about conferring much au- 
thority on anybody. W. Wilson, Cong. Gov., vi. 
5. Elusive; hard to find, get at, obtain, or ac- 
complish. 
The dinner, I own, is shy, unless I come and dine with 
my friends ; and then I make up for banyan days. 
Thackeray, Philip, xix. 
As he [Coleridge] was the first to observe some of the 
sky's appearances and some of the shyer revelations of 
outward nature, so he was also flrst in noting some of the 
more occult phenomena of thought and emotion. 
Lowell, Coleridge. 
6f. Morally circumspect ; scrupulous. 
Nif he nere scoymus & skyg & non scathe louied. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 21. 
7. Keen; piercing; bold; sharp. Halliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] 8f. Sly; sharp; cunning. 
Mine own modest petition, my friend's diligent labour, 
. . . were all peltingly defeated by a shy practice of the 
old Fox. G. Harvey, Four Letters. 
9. Scant. The wind is said to be shy when it 
will barely allow a vessel to sail on her course. 
To fight shy of. See fight. To look shy at or on, to 
regard with distrust or suspicion. 
How will you like going to Sessions with everybody 
looking shy on you, and you with a bad conscience and an 
empty pocket ? George Eliot, Middlemarch, vi. 
= Syn. 2. Diffident, shamefaced. See bashfulness. 
shy 1 (shi), v. ; pret. and pp. shied, ppr. nhyiiii/. 
[Not found in ME. (f); = MD. schuiren, schon- 
icen, D. schuwen = MLG. schuwen, JjGr.sehuKen, 
si 
xi-hiiiitii = OHG. Kciiihfii, urulwii, MHG. srliiii- 
IIIH, srhimceii, G. sclifiii-lii-ii, xi-ln inn, get out of 
the way, avoid, shun, = Sw. skyijga = Dan. ../,(/ , 
from the adj. Hence ult. (through OF. < OHG.) 
eschew.'] I. intniiis. To shrink or start back or 
aside, as in sudden fear: said specifically of a 
horse. 
"He don't *%, does he?" inquired Mr. Pickwick. "Shi/, 
sir? He wouldn't shy if he was to meet a vaggin-load of 
monkeys with their tails burnt olf." Dickens, Pickwick, v. 
These women are the salt of New England. . . . No 
fashionable nonsense about them. What 's in you, Forbes, 
to shy so at a good woman ? 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 93. 
II. trims. To avoid; shun (a person). [Prov. 
Eng.] 
All who espied her 
Immediately shied her, 
And strove to get out of her way. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 219. 
Shy 1 (shl), n.; pi. shies (shiz). [< shy 1 , r.] A 
sudden start aside, as from fear, especially one 
made by a horse. 
shy- (shi), v. ; pret. and pp. shied, ppr. shying. 
[Also shie; prob. another use of shy 1 , v., but 
evidence is lacking, the word shy in this sense 
being of prov. origin and still mainly colloq. 
or slang.] I. trans. 1. To fling; throw; jerk; 
toss. 
Gyrations . . . similar to those which used to be famil 
iar to one when the crown of a lower boy's hat had been 
kicked out and shied about the school-yard. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 772. 
He has an abject fear of cats they're witches, he says 
and if he can shy a stone at one when it doesn't see him, 
that is delight. W. Black, In Far Lochaber, vi. 
Though the world does take liberties with the good- 
tempered fellows, it shies them many a stray favour. 
Lever, Davenport Dunn, xx. 
2. To throw off; toss or send out at random. 
I cannot keep up with the world without shying a letter 
now and then. Scott, Diary, March 26, 1827. (Lockhart.) 
II. intrans. To throw a missile; specifically, 
to jerk. 
The Anglo-Saxon race alone is capable of propelling a 
missile in the method known as shying. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 801. 
shy' 2 (shl), re.; pi. shies (shiz). [< shy 2 , .] 1. 
A quick, jerking, or careless throw ; a fling. 
Where the cock belonged to some one disposed to make 
it a matter of business, twopence was paid for three shies 
at it, the missile used being a broomstick. 
Chambers's Book of Days, I. 238. 
2. A fling; a sneer; a gibe. [Slang.] 
" There you go, Polly ; you are always having a shy at 
Lady Ann and her relations," says Mr. Newcome, good- 
naturedly. " A shy ! how can you use such vulgar words, 
Mr. Newcome?" Thackeray, Newcomes, xvi. 
3. A trial ; an experiment. [Slang.] 
I went with my last ten florins, and had a shi/ at the 
roulette. Thackeray, Pendennis, Ixxv. 
"An honest man has a much better chance upon the 
turf than he has in the city." "How do you know?" 
asked Norma, smiling. " Because I've had a shy at both, 
my dear." W. E. Norris, Miss Shafto, viii. 
shyly (shi'li), adv. [Formerly also shily ; < shy 1 
+ -/}/' 2 .] In a shy or timid manner; timidly; 
coyly; diffidently. 
shynet, and re. A Middle English spelling of 
shine 1 . 
shyness (shi'nes), . [Formerly also shiness; < 
shy 1 + -ness."] The quality or' state of being 
shy; especially, a shrinking from familiarity 
or conspicuousness ; diffidence; lack of self- 
assertiveness. 
Shyness, as the derivation of the word indicates in sev- 
eral languages, is closely related to fear ; yet it is distinct 
from fear in the ordinary sense. A shy man no doubt 
dreads the notice of strangers, but can hardly be said to 
be afraid of them. Danrin, Express, of Emotions, p. 332. 
= Syn. Diffidence, Coyness, etc. See bashfulness. 
shy nfult, ". A Middle English form of shendful. 
shyster (shi'ster), n. [Origin obscure. Usu- 
ally associated with shy 1 , as if < shy 1 , sharp, 
sly, + -ster; but shy in that sense is not in use 
in the U. S.] One who does business trickily; 
a person without professional honor: used 
chiefly of lawyers: as, pettifoggers and sini- 
ster*. [U. S.] 
The Prison Association held its monthly meeting last 
night. The report was rich in incidents and develop- 
ments about the skinners, sharks, and shysters of the 
Tombs. New York Express, quoted in Bartlett's 
[Americanisms, p. 591. 
si (se), n. [See gamut,] In solmizatlon, the 
syllable used for the seventh tone of the scale, 
or the leading tone. In the scale of C this tone is B, 
which is therefore called si in France, Italy, etc. This 
syllable was not included in the syllables of Guido, be- 
cause of the prevalence in his time of the hexachord the- 
ory of the scale ; it is supposed to have been introduced 
about 1UOO. In the tonic sol-fa system, Ii (U) is used in- 
