<B>sheriffdom, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the district or territory under a sheriff's jurisdiction. <DD><B> 2. </B>the office of sheriff. </DL>
<A NAME="sheriffship">
<B>sheriffship, </B>noun. =sheriffdom.</DL>
<A NAME="sheristadar">
<B>sheristadar, </B>noun, pl. <B>-dars.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in India) an officer or clerk, as of a court, who keeps records. </DL>
<A NAME="sherlock">
<B>sherlock, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) a private detective. </DL>
<A NAME="sherlockholmes">
<B>Sherlock Holmes,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fictional English detective with remarkable powers of observation and reasoning, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) in 1887. </DL>
<A NAME="sherlockian">
<B>Sherlockian, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with Sherlock Holmes; Holmesian. <DD><I>noun </I> an admirer of Sherlock Holmes. </DL>
<A NAME="sherpa">
<B>Sherpa, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a member of a Mongoloid people of Nepal. Sherpas have served as guides and porters for most of the expeditions to climb Mount Everest. <BR> <I>Ex. Foot over foot for five weeks, the 13 Britons and the 35 Sherpas ... drive up a jagged icefall of 3,000 feet (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B><B>sherpa.</B> (British Slang.) a porter. <DD><B> 3. </B>Also, <B>sherpa.</B> a representative of a head of state who is charged with the preparations for a summit meeting. </DL>
<B>sherry, </B>noun, pl. <B>-ries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a strong wine originally made in southern Spain. Its color varies from pale yellow to brown. <DD><B> 2. </B>any similar wine. <BR> <I>Ex. This week we can offer our Golden Cyprus Sherry in a medium sweet or medium dry (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="sherrycobbler">
<B>sherry cobbler,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a drink of sherry, sugar, lemon, and water. </DL>
<A NAME="sherwani">
<B>sherwani, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a long, tight, buttoned coat with a high collar, worn in India as a man's formal dress. </DL>
<B>sheth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the ribs of the framework for the bottom or sides of a wagon. <DD><B> 2. </B>the part of a plow to which the moldboard and share are attached. </DL>
<B>Shetland pony,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a small, sturdy, rough-coated pony, originally from the Shetland Islands, from 9 to 11 1/2 hands high and weighing from 300 to 500 pounds. </DL>
<A NAME="shetlandsheep">
<B>Shetland sheep,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> one of a breed of sheep native to the Shetland Islands. </DL>
<A NAME="shetlandsheepdog">
<B>Shetland sheepdog,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a long-haired working dog resembling a small collie, of a breed originated in the Shetland Islands. It has a black or brown coat with white or tan markings. </DL>
<A NAME="shetlandwool">
<B>Shetland wool,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a fine, hairy, strong worsted spun from the wool of Shetland sheep, widely used in knitting fine shawls, sweaters, and other garments. </DL>
<A NAME="sheugh">
<B>sheugh</B> or <B>sheuch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) a furrow; ditch; gully. </DL>
<A NAME="shew">
<B>shew, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>shewed,</B> <B>shewn,</B> <B>shewing,</B> noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Especially British or Archaic.) show. </DL>
<A NAME="shewbread">
<B>shewbread, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the unleavened bread placed near the altar every Sabbath by the ancient Jewish priests as an offering to God (in the Bible, Leviticus 24:5-9). Also, <B>showbread.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shf">
<B>SHF</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> superhigh frequency. </DL>
<A NAME="shiah">
<B>Shiah</B> or <B>Shia, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>one of the two great Moslem sects, centered in Iran, which regards Ali, the son-in-law of Mohammed, as the true successor of Mohammed and rejects the first three caliphs and the Sunnite book of tradition handed down under their protection. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=Shiite.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shiatsu">
<B>shiatsu</B> or <B>shiatzu, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a method of massaging parts of the body by finger pressure to relieve pain, fatigue, etc.. <BR> <I>Ex. Japanese shiatsu massage is available at several locations in addition to the Salon de Tokyo (New York Sunday News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shibboleth">
<B>shibboleth, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>any test word, watchword, or pet phrase of a political party, a class, a sect, or other group. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) any use of language, habit, or custom, considered distinctive of a particular group or class. </DL>
<A NAME="shibuichi">
<B>shibuichi, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an alloy widely used in Japanese decorative art. It is made of three parts copper to one part silver. </DL>
<B>shied, </B>verb.<DL COMPACT><DD> a past tense and past participle of <B>shy.</B> <BR> <I>Ex. The horse shied and threw the rider. He had never shied like that before.</I> </DL>
<B>shield, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a piece of armor carried on the arm or in the hand to protect the body in battle, used in ancient and medieval warfare. <DD><B> 2. </B>anything used to protect. <BR> <I>Ex. He turned up his collar as a shield against the cold wind. A heavy face shield protects a welder's face and eyes from being burned. (Figurative.) Active French forces in the Allied "shield" in Europe now stand officially at four divisions (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>something shaped like a shield. <DD><B> 4. </B>a covering for moving parts of machinery. <DD><B> 5a. </B>any substance to protect against exposure to radiation, especially in nuclear reactors, such as lead or water. <DD><B> b. </B>a barrier built out of one of these substances. <DD><B> 6a. </B>a framework pushed ahead in a tunnel to prevent the earth from caving in while the tunnel is being lined. <DD><B> b. </B>a movable framework protecting a miner at his work. <DD><B> 7. </B>a steel screen or plate, such as that attached to a cannon or howitzer, to protect something, such as a crew or a mechanism. <DD><B> 8a. </B>a policeman's badge. <DD><B> b. </B><B>=escutcheon.</B> <DD><B> 9. </B>a piece of fabric, often rubberized, worn inside a dress at the armpit. <DD><B> 10. </B>(Zoology.) a protective plate covering a part on the body of an animal, such as a scute, or carapace. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to be a shield to; protect; defend; shelter. <BR> <I>Ex. to shield the child from attack by the savage watchdog, to shield a criminal. Her hat shielded her eyes from the sun. (Figurative.) His mother shielded him from punishment.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Obsolete.) to avert; prevent. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to act or serve as a shield. noun <B>shielder.</B> adj. <B>shieldlike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shieldback">
<B>shield-back, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a chair with a back resembling a shield, a design much used by George Hepplewhite in England in the 1700's. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldbearer">
<B>shield-bearer, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (formerly) a soldier who carried his chief's shield. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldfern">
<B>shield fern,</B> =wood fern.</DL>
<A NAME="shielding">
<B>shielding, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a substance that shields against radiation; shield. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldlaw">
<B>shield law,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a law that permits a member of the press to protect his confidential sources. <BR> <I>Ex. Under "shield laws" in twelve States, newsmen can refuse to reveal their sources (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shieldless">
<B>shieldless, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> without a shield; unprotected. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldofsobieski">
<B>Shield of Sobieski,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (Astronomy.) a constellation over the bow of Sagittarius, represented as a shield having a cross. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldpigeon">
<B>shield pigeon,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> one of a breed of domesticated pigeons of small size, having a white head and body, parti-colored wings, and no crest. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldshaped">
<B>shield-shaped, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> like a shield in shape. </DL>
<A NAME="shieldvolcano">
<B>shield volcano,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a low, flat, dome-shaped volcano, built up of coalescing and overlapping lava streams with almost no explosive activity and with relatively little pyroclastic material. <BR> <I>Ex. Most shield volcanoes are composed of basalt, though a few are andesite (Gilluly, Waters, and Woodford).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="shieling">
<B>shieling, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Scottish.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a shiel. <DD><B> 2. </B>a piece of pasture. <BR> <I>Ex. ... sone ... she and her colleagues may have chanted on the lone shieling (Punch).</I> <DD> Also, <B>shealing,</B> <B>sheiling.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shier">
<B>shier</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a horse that shies. Also, <B>shyer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shier">
<B>shier</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who shies (throws). Also, <B>shyer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="shier">
<B>shier</B> (3), adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> a comparative of <B>shy</B> (1). </DL>
<A NAME="shiest">
<B>shiest, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> a superlative of <B>shy</B> (1). </DL>
