▪ I. shine, n.1
(ʃaɪn)
[f. shine v. Cf. sheen n.1
WGer. had a synonymous form derived from the vb.: OS., OHG. scîn (Du. schijn, MHG. schîn, mod.G. schein); also OE. sc{iacu}n spectre (if the vowel be long).]
1. a. Brightness or radiance shed by a luminary or an illuminant.
| a 1529 Skelton P. Sparowe 1174 Lyke Phebus beames shyne. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xlii. 16 The sonne ouer⁓loketh all thinges with his shine. c 1590 Greene Fr. Bacon i. i, When heauens bright shine is shadowed with a fogge. 1629 Milton Hymn Nativ. xxii, And mooned Ashtaroth..Now sits not girt with Tapers holy shine. 1683 Tryon Way to Health 73 This Fire..sends forth a bright shine and wholsom smell. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. II. xliii. 14 Sitting..with the windows open, enjoying the warm shine of the sun. 1844 Browning Colombe's Birthday iv, Day by day, while shimmering grows shine. 1868 Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. ii. 460 Their red torches' shine. 1878 Hardy Ret. Native v. vii, [Her] bedroom was lighted up, and it was the shine from her window which had lighted the pole. |
† b. A beam or ray; a halo. Obs.
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 483 b, You may putt all your winninges in your eyes, and see never a shine the lesse. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. ii. Masque i, Her deuice within a Ring of clouds, a Heart with shine about it. 1610 G. Fletcher Christ's Tri. iii, The under Corylets did catch the shines, To guild their leaves. 1654 Owen Saints' Persev. i. 5 Such shines of Gods countenance upon them. |
2. a. Lustre or sheen of an object reflecting light, as metal, water, silk. † of shine: lustrous, glistening.
| 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. v. (1601) L 3 b, Though we haue now put on no tyre of shine But mortall eyes vndazled may endure. 1648 Herrick Hesper., Oberon's Palace 22 He, and They Led by the shine of Snails. 1667 Decay Chr. Piety v. §29 Dazled with the glittering shine of Gold. 1696 Tryon Misc. i. 7 This Spirit..loseth its pure Colour, or bright native Shine. 1813 Byron Corsair i. ii, They..to each his blade assign, And careless eye the blood that dims its shine. 1869 ‘Lewis Carroll’ Phantasmagoria 92 For it [the hat] had lost its shape and shine, And it had cost him four-and-nine. 1898 Meredith Odes Fr. Hist. 6 The lurid shine Of seas in the night-wind's whirl. |
b. Coupled with shade (cf. shine v. 1 c).
| 1838 Mrs. Browning Seraphim ii, Death upon his face Is rather shine than shade. 1863 ‘C. Bede’ Tour in Tartanland 179 The mountain is..broken up into shine and shade. |
c. Painting and Photogr. Shininess; a shiny patch.
| 1880 Athenæum 28 Feb. 287/2 [The ‘spirit fresco’ process] being free from shine, is admirably adapted for mural work on a large scale, which should be seen at any angle. 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 37 [The daguerreotype] was full of shines. 1901 E. A. Pratt Notable Masters of Men 82 Without shine gold paint was of no value. |
d. The polish given to a pair of boots by a bootblack; transf. a job of boot-blacking.
| 1871 News (Galveston) 4 May (Schele de Vere), As I left the cars, an imp with smutty face, Said: Shine? 1872 Lowell Milton Writ. 1890 IV. 103 If Mr. Masson never heard a shoeblack in the street say, ‘Shall I give you a shine, sir?’ his experience has been singular. 1894 Advance (Chicago) 27 Dec. 456/1 A little boot-black, who..shivered in the March wind and waited for shines. |
e. The pupil of the eye. dial. (Cf. sheen n.1 2.)
| 1713 Guardian No. 58 ¶6 A Gallon of my October will do thee more good than all thou canst get by fine Sights at London, which I'll engage thou mayest put in the Shine of thine Eye. 1868 Atkinson Cleveland Gloss. |
f. spec. The shiny surface of a new cricket ball.
| 1950 [see opener 1 e]. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 30 Mike Smith didn't call upon me until Fred Trueman and Rumsey had seen the shine off the new ball. |
3. a. Sunshine, esp. as opposed to rain; hence, fine weather. Also, moonlight. Also fig. phr. (come) rain or shine, in any circumstances, come what may.
| 1622 Wither Philarete N 3, Or shine, or raine, or Blow, I, my Resolutions know. 1693 Locke Educ. §9 Heat and Cold, Shine and Rain. 1797 Coleridge Christabel i. II. 65 Ever and aye, by shine and shower. 1849 Lytton Caxtons x. iv, A ceremony which, every night, shine or dark, he insisted upon punctiliously performing. 1888 Henley Bk. Verses 113 Come storm, come shine, whatever befall. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad lv, And the youth at morning shine Makes the vow he will not keep. 1905 H. A. Vachell Hill vi. 138 With me you're first, rain or shine. 1908 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catal. 1076/2 These overcoats do double service, being adapted for all kinds of chilly weather, rain or shine. 1952 M. R. Rinehart Pool vii. 54 She walks everywhere here in the city, rain or shine. 1978 M. Birmingham Sleep in Ditch 115 He said..we'd got to put up with each other for ten years, ‘come rain or shine’. |
b. Abbrev. of moonshine 4.
| 1933 Sun (Baltimore) 22 July 8/7 You should take a julep made from the wonderful ‘shine’ made in the hills of Western Maryland. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling i. 12 ‘Goin' to Grahamsville allus do make me hongry.’ ‘You git a snort o' 'shine there, is the reason,’ she said. 1969 P. Kavanagh Such Men are Dangerous (1971) iii. 42 Whiskey? A quart of shine, which the Lord loves, it being a natural product. 1977 E. Leonard Hunted (1978) ix. 90 ‘Hundred-proof pure Kentucky bourbon. How about that.’ Like it was a treat and all Davis drank was some kind of piss-poor shine. |
4. fig. a. Brilliance, radiance, splendour, lustre. † Also [after G. schein], a specious appearance, a ‘show’.
| 1530 Proper Dyaloge in Roy Rede me, etc. (Arb.) 131 Vyce cloked vnder shyne of vertuousnes. 1535 Coverdale Col. ii. 23 Which thinges haue a shyne [Luther, schein; 1611 shew] of wyszdome. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 15 The bright shine, and worthines of his auncestors. a 1634 ? Chapman Rev. Hon. ii. i, The glorious shine of your illustrious vertues. 1734 Pope Ess. Man iv. 9 Fair op'ning to some court's propitious shine. a 1774 Goldsm. Hist. Greece I. 380 The delusive shine of a lively and pompous eloquence. 1867 Lowell Fitz Adam's Story 342 No other face had such a wholesome shine. 1878 Browning Poets Croisic 53 To bask..in shine which kings and queens And baby-dauphins shed. |
† b. Sunniness of disposition. Obs. rare.
| 1710 Steele Spect. No. 75 ¶4 What can make a Man so much in constant Good-humour and Shine, as we call it? |
c. A brilliant display, a ‘dash’. Phr. to cut (make) a shine.
| 1819 Metropolis II. 165 His name was well calculated to cut a shine. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. i. xii, To celebrate the nuptials with due shine and demonstration. 1847 Robb Squatter Life (Bartlett 1860), To make a shine with Sally, I took her a new parasol. |
d. Colloq. phr. to take the shine out of (less freq. from, U.S. off): to deprive (a person or thing) of his or its brilliance or pre-eminence; to outshine, surpass.
| 1819 Moore Tom Crib (ed. 3) 34 Shewing such a fist of mutton As..Would take the shine from Speaker Sutton. 1824 Landor Imag. Conv., Southey & Porson Wks. 1853 I. 73/1, I am inclined to take the shine out of him for it. 1827 De Quincey Murder Wks. 1854 IV. 33 The baker jumped up with surprising agility,..but the shine was now taken out of him. 1833 [Seba Smith] Lett. J. Downing iii. (1835) 43, I am only sorry I didn't bring Seth Sprague along with me, with his pitch-pipe, jest to take the shine off of them 'ere singers. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxi, The cares of the world..takes the shine out of us. |
5. An abusive term for a Black. Also attrib. U.S. slang.
| 1908 J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 24 Shine, a colored person. 1929 D. Hammett Dain Curse iv. 34 How'd you make out with the shine? 1934 J. T. Farrell Young Manhood iii. xv. 227 They saw one beautiful blonde girl with a coal-black, sweating nigger, and they said nothing, only because there were too many shines in the place. 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, My Lovely iii. 13 His voice said bitterly: ‘Shines. Another shine killing. That's what I rate after eighteen years in this man's police department.’ 1953 W. Burroughs Junkie v. 51 A Negro sitting opposite us smiled. ‘The shine is wise,’ said Roy in my ear. ‘He is O.K.’ 1969 S. Greenlee Spook who sat by Door xiii. 116 He's a shine detective lieutenant. |
▪ II. shine, n.2
(ʃaɪn)
[perh. uses of prec. n., but the senses are curiously parallel to those of shindy.]
1. A party, convivial gathering; usually tea-shine, a ‘tea-fight’. dial.
| 1838 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 98 Two tea-shines went off with éclat. 1882 Jamieson's Sc. Dict., Shine,..in a good sense the term is generally applied to a social gathering, especially when of a convivial kind, as a wedding..or a merry-making, which is called a grand or great shine. |
2. A disturbance, row, fuss. colloq.
| 1832–53 Whistle-binkie Ser. iii. 53 Siccan shines were there, Siccan noisy peltin'. 1849 Cupples Green Hand xi, Sich a shine and a nitty as I kicks up. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. lvii, There'd be a pretty shine made if I was to go a wisitin them. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms vi, What's one horse to make such a shine about? |
3. pl. Capers, tricks. U.S. Cf. shine n.1 4 c.
| 1830 N. Dana Mariner's Sk. 34 (Thornton Amer. Gloss.), Has your skipper begun to cut any shines yet? 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. iv, ‘I'll boun you pulled 'em out, some o' your shines,’ said Aunt Chloe. |
4. to take a shine to (colloq., orig. U.S.): to take a fancy for.
| 1839 Crockett Almanac 1840 14, I wonst had an old flame I took sumthin of a shine to. 1848 Lowell Biglow P. Ser. i. A Letter, My gracious! it's a scorpion thet's took a shine to play with't. 1908 W. Churchill Mr. Crewe's Career x, He took a shine to you that night you saw him. 1934 F. H. Bushick Glamorous Days xxiii. 278 Nobody wanted the old corn cutter except this Irishman, who took a shine to it. 1956 P. Scott Male Child ii. iv. 152, I suppose I oughtn't to blame you if Marion's taken a shine to you... You must have a way with women. 1961 Guardian 23 Mar. 10/6 Shaw evidently took a shine to the young hero-worshipping woman. 1978 L. Meynell Papersnake x. 132 He took to you... He took a shine to you. 1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 July 799/1 If her [sc. Barbara Pym's] heroines were married, they were not unfaithful to their husbands, although they might take a shine to the curate. |
▪ III. † shine, a. poet. Obs.
[alteration of sheen a. by assimilation to shine v.]
Shining, bright.
| a 1593 Marlowe Ovid's Elegies i. i. 34 Elegian Muse..Girt my shine browe [Ovid flaventia tempora] with Sea⁓banke Mirtle praise. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. iii. 3 These warlike Champions all in armour shine, Assembled were in field. 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. xii. 259 Stellisque micantibus æthera fixum..the skies with shine-starres fixt to be. |
▪ IV. shine, v.
(ʃaɪn)
Pa. tense and pple. shone (ʃɒn). Forms: inf. and pres. stem. 1 sc{iacu}nan, sc{yacu}nan, 2–3 scine(n, 2–4 schine(n, 3–5 scyne, 3–6 schine, 3–8 schyne, (3 sine, 4 schijne, ssine, ssyne, shyyne, 5 schone (?), 6 shynne), 4–6 shyne, 3– shine. pa. tense 1 scán, sceán (pl. scinon), 2–3 sc(e)an, 3–5 schon, 4–5 shoon, s(c)hoen, 4–6 schone, (3 scæn, s(c)on, shan, 4 schoon, 4, 7 shon, 6 shoone), 5– shone; north. 4 sca(i)n, schan, 4–5 shane, 4–6 schane, 5 chane; weak 4 scynde, schyn(e)de, shynede, schinede, 4–6 shyned, 5 schynyd, -it, 6 schynet, schynnit, 6 schyned, 6–7 shinde, 6– 8 shin'd, 7 shind, 6– (now U.S., dial. and arch.) shined. pa. pple. 3 sinen; 4–6 shyned, 7 shin'd, 7– shined; 8 shon, 6– shone.
[Com. Teut. str. vb.: OE. sc{iacu}nan (pa. tense scán, scinon, pa. pple. *scinen) = OFris. skîna (WFris. skine, NFris. skiin), OS. skînan (MLG., LG., MDu. schînen, Du. schijnen), OHG. scînan (MHG. scînen, schînen, G. scheinen to shine, to seem, appear), ON. skîna (Sw. skina), Goth. skeinan:—OTeut. *skinan, f. root skī̆ by means of the present-stem formative n, which was carried through into the pa. tense and pple.
Affinities outside Teutonic are Skr. chāy{amacacu} shade, shimmer, mod.Pers. sāya, Gr. σκιᾱ́, OSlav. sĕn{supi}, Albanian hē shade; for the sense cf. shim n.1 and v.1, shimmer v.
The regular strong pa. pple. is rare in Eng., being unrecorded in OE. and appearing only once in ME. sinen; it was superseded by the weak form shined, which was in common use c 1300–1800; this was supplanted by the form of the strong pa. tense, which first appears as pa. pple. in the second half of the 16th c. (Weak forms are found in some of the continental langs., e.g. (pa. tense) late WFris. schynd, MLG. schynede, OHG. scînta, early mod.G. schein(e)te.)]
1. a. intr. Of a heavenly body or an object that is alight: To shed beams of bright light; to give out light so as to illuminate; to be radiant. Also with forth, out.
| c 725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) A 801 Ardebat, scaan. c 888 ælfred Boeth. ix, Þonne seo sunne on hadrum heofone beorhtost scineð, þonne aþeostriað ealle steorran. c 1000 ælfric Gen. i. 15 Hiᵹ scinon on þære heofenan fæstnysse and alihton þa eorðan. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 678, Her ateowede cometa se steorra..& scan .iii. monðas ælce morᵹen swilce sunnebeam. a 1200 Moral Ode 275 Neure sunne þer ne scinð. c 1220 Bestiary 19 in O.E. Misc., Ne stireð he nout of slepe Til ðe sunne haueð sinen. c 1290 St. Bridget 41 in S. Eng. Leg. 193 Þe sonne schon In at one hole. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 323 Hove out of mi Sonne, And let it schyne into mi Tonne. Ibid. II. 120 The nyht was derk, ther schon no Mone. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 513/5 So he wolde sytt all day to þe son shane on his face agayn. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxv. 1 Lucina schynnyng in silence of the nicht. 1566 Gascoigne Jocasta ii. i, The aultars where the sacred flames haue shone. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 272 Well shone Moone. 1620 T. Granger Div. Logike 29 It is day: because the Sun shineth above the horizon. 1703 Rowe Ulysses i. i, What Sun has shon that has not seen your Insolence. 1704 Prior Celia to Damon 20 Fires Eternal on Her Altars shine. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia, Descr. iv. 64 When the Storm is over, the Sun Shines out as before. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxvii, It must surely have been a light in the hut of a forester, for it shone too steadily to be the glimmer of an ignis fatuus. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xviii. 133 The fog became thin, and the sun shone through it. |
| weak pa. tense c 1305 Pop. Treat. Sci. (1841) 133/66 The sonne..that..Maketh hire [the moon] so schyne aboute as heo schynde in crestal. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2194 No man she saw & ȝit shynede the mone. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lv. 131 Whan þy lanterne shyned upon his hede. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 229 The sone..schynnit bright wpoun the saillis. 1645 Symonds Diary (Camden) 243 This night I saw a rainbow..at five in the morning, and the moone shined bright. 1776 Chandler Trav. Greece xlv. 201 The moon shined bright. |
b. Of the day: To be sunny or bright; also, to dawn. Chiefly poet.
| 1382 Wyclif Matt. xxviii. 1 In the euenyng of the saboth,..that schyneth [Vulg. lucescit] in the firste day of the woke. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 95 As the goldin morning schynis bricht. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 397 Quhilk at last the daylyght begane to schyne. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 108 We can..dismiss thee ere the Morning shine. 1742 Gray West 1 In vain to me the smileing Mornings shine. |
c. impers. it shines: it is sunny.
| c 1400 Beryn 1317 Thow tokist noon hede whils it shoon hoot. 1577 Tusser Husb. (1878) 43 At noone if it bloweth, at night if it shine. 1622 J. Taylor (Water P.) Water-cormorant A 4, According to his mood it raines or shines. 1853 Hawthorne Engl. Note-bks. (1883) I. 436 By and by the sun shone out, and it has continued to shine and shade every ten minutes ever since. |
d. to shine upon: to look favourably upon, be favourable to, said of a star, or (in biblical language) of the face of God. arch.
| 1535 Coverdale Num. vi. 25 The Lorde make his face to shyne vpon the. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 707 Notwithstanding, that fortune shone on hym in obteyning the victorie agaynst the Erle of Warwike. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 75 Heauen and our Lady gracious hath it pleas'd To shine on my contemptible estate. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 51 The Lord Mountjoy, like a good Planet, with a fortunate aspect began to shine thereon. 1648 Cromwell Let. to R. Hammond 25 Nov., We are sure, the good-will of Him who dwelt in the Bush has shined upon us. 1791 Burns Lament Mary Q. of Scots vi, May kinder stars Upon thy fortune shine! |
2. a. Of a metallic, polished, smooth, or glossy object: To be bright or resplendent; to gleam, glisten, or glitter with reflected light.
| c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xiv. 88 Swæ swæ on ðæm mæssehræᵹle scinð [Hatton MS. scienð] onᵹemang oðrum bleom ðæt twyðrawene twin. a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 125 (Gr.) Scean scir werod, scyldas lixton. c 1205 Lay. 27361 Sceldes blikien burnen scinen. a 1225 Juliana 54 (Royal MS.) Hire nebscheft schininde [Bodl. MS. schiminde] al as schene as þe sunne. c 1230 Hali Meid. 11 Nis hit nower neh gold al þat ter schineð. a 1300 Cursor M. 8484 Stedfast stode þe marbel stan, On-ferr þe golden letters scan. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) I. 148 Of gold schone his coroun. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 80 Wyth schymeryng schene ful schrylle þay schynde. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 198 His heed was balled, þat shoon as any glas. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 20 Thair baneris schane with the sone, of siluer and sabill. 1526 Tindale Luke ix. 29 His garment was whyte, and shoone. 1577 T. Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 73 His tongue did lispe, his visage shinde. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 246 O 'tis the Sunne that maketh all things shine. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 508 Thick with sparkling orient Gemmes The Portal shon. 1751 G. Lavington Enthus. Meth. & Papists iii. (1754) 78 The whole House shined. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. Introd. 53 The huge hall-table's oaken face, Scrubb'd till it shone. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. i. 237 A rook's feather may be made to shine with magnificent iridescences. 1888 Henley Bk. Verses 118 Clear shine the hills. 1974 Black World Jan. 57/1 Her shiny black paint shined in the sun. |
| indirect passive. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Hist. iv. x. §1 When they saw the riches of Rome..and found themselves shone round about..with silver and gold. |
b. To be bright with.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iii. 45 Our Italy, Shines o're with ciuill Swords. 1733 Revol. Politicks v. 37 The Streets in the Evening every where shined very gloriously with Bonefires. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano ii. ii. 68 The altar shone With gold and silver. |
3. To be radiant or brilliant with high colouring, rich array, or the like; to be effulgent with splendour or beauty; to make a brave show. Now rare.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 7 Seo hwitnes þære lilian scineþ on þe. c 1375 Cursor M. 23696 (Fairf.) Mani flouris..neuer-mare þe colour tine bot as paradis salle þai shine. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 106 (MS. I.) Þe chaumpet, þe cheuerell, þat schon opon heyght. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 132 Þes two woymen þat schynen passyng all oþyr, wer two comyn woymen. 1513 Douglas æneis i. vi. 163 Her nek schane like unto the roise in May. 1577 T. Kendall Flowers of Epigr. 84 b, In all thy body bewty shines, thy forhed shineth fair. a 1639 Carew To A. L. 64 When a fair lady's face is pined, And yellow spread where red once shined. 1781 Cowper Truth 70 [The pheasant] retreats..To the close copse..And shines without desiring to be seen. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxxii, We are somewhat shorn of our train,..but you, cousin, must shine out for us both. 1833 Tennyson Œnone 176 Her light foot Shone rosy-white. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. i. ii, Some centennial Cactus-flower, which after a century of waiting shines out for hours! 1878 Susan Phillips On Seaboard 199 In the golden meadows, where the cowslip and crowsfoot shone. |
4. In various fig. applications (cf. 5 and 6), with retention of literal phraseology.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 43 Þonne scinað ða rihtwisan swa swa sunne on hyra fæder rice. a 1225 Ancr. R. 246, & te soðe sunne, þet is Jesu Crist, schineð þerefter schennure to þe soule. a 1300 Cursor M. 12574 Þe clernes self o godds light Schan on him. 1382 Wyclif Matt. v. 16 So shyyne ȝoure liȝt before men, that thei see ȝoure good werkis. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5357 Whan Richesse shyneth bright, Love recovereth ageyn his light. c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert xv, Ther schone, or ellis schyned, in þe soule of þese women a fayr beute of precious perles, of swech goostly richesse. 1526 Tindale 2 Cor. iv. 6 It is god..which hath shyned in oure hertes, for to geve the light of knowledge off the glorious god. 1535 Coverdale Isa. ix. 2 As for them that dwel in the londe of the shadowe of death, vpon them shal the light shyne. 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido ii. i. 481 In whose stern faces shin'd the quenchles fire. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. v. 476 The Radiant Cymbeline, Which shines heere in the West. 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 212 A Virtue, greater than euer yet had shin'd on earth. 1700 Dryden Fables Pref. C 2, Chaucer..is a rough Diamond, and must first be polish'd e'er he shines. 1773 R. Lowth Serm. Rom. xii. 11 p. 6 Their Learning..was such as could only have shined in dark times. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. ii. viii, For we shall still find Hope shining..as a mild heavenly light it shone; as a red conflagration it shines. 1849 T. Woolner My Beautiful Lady xii, How beautiful she is! A glorious gem She shines above the summer diadem Of flowers! 1982 Chicago Sun-Times 12 July 65 But Red Smith was a beacon who shined for half a century. |
5. Of persons: To be conspicuous or brilliant in ability, character, achievement, or position; to be eminent or distinguished, to excel.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xii. (1890) 44 Se nama ðære Romaniscan þeode, se ðe mid swa lange scean & bryhte. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxvii. (Machor) 318 A man that schane of halynes. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 43 If we schyn in þeis vertues. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. v. (1883) 69 Hit was better and more noble thynge to shyne in good maners than in vayssell. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 202 To shyne before theyr flock with honest examples of lyfe. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §131 He shined in the House of Peers. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 244 ¶1 An Ambition to excel, or, as the Term is, to shine, in Company. 1747 H. Walpole Let. to Mann 3 July, We shine at sea; two-and-forty sail of the Domingo fleet have fallen into our hands. 1805 T. Harral Scenes of Life I. 113 That cause in which British valour had so often shined triumphant. 1818 Byron Juan i. xxiii, If there's anything in which I shine, 'Tis in arranging all my friends' affairs. 1836 Thirlwall Greece xvii. III. 2 He..never shone as an orator. 1859 Habits of Gd. Society xiv. 349 The people who were stupidest before, suddenly shine out quite brilliantly. 1889 Harper's Mag. Mar. 561/1 There was..a special reason which made me resolved to shine at this ball at whatever cost. |
6. a. Of something immaterial: To appear with conspicuous clearness; to be brilliantly evident or visible; to stand out clearly.
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Treat. 12 In þis gyfte schynes contemplacyone. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 449 A noble soule schoon by virtues in þat litel body. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 6 His grete beautee schynit sa before all otheris. 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) 247 Alle good manyeres began to growe and shyne in hym. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (Sommer) 127 b, Then shined foorth indeede all loue among them. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iii. xi. §9 The wisedom of God, which shineth in the bewtifull varietie of all things. 1632 Massinger Maid of Hon. iv. iv, The reverence and Majesty of Iuno Shinde in her lookes. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 304 Princely counsel in his face yet shon. 1725 Pope Odyss. xiv. 204 In all the youth his father's image shin'd. 1853 C. Brontë Villette xx, What fun shone in his eyes as he recalled some of her fine speeches! 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. vi, How the aged look faded off her worn face, and the sweet prettiness of former days began to shine out again. 1929 [see concordancy]. 1948 Sun (Baltimore) 18 Oct. 12/5 It was full of adept and memorable phrases... It shined with wit and humor. |
b. To be clearly evident through an outward appearance.
| 1590 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 40 These follies are within you, and shine through you like the water in an Vrinall. 1605 ― Macb. iii. i. 128 Your Spirits shine through you. 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xlvii. 138 To see the Countenance, (through which perhaps there shin'd a louely Maiesty..). 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. II. 31 The babe Jesus in her arm, with his Father shining through him. 1859 Tennyson Marr. Geraint 545 Yniol's rusted arms Were on his princely person, but thro' these Prince⁓like his bearing shone. |
† 7. to shine through: to be transparent. Obs.
| 1675 Alsop Anti-Sozzo iii. ii. 207 This [reasoning] is very thin Stuff; it shines through. |
8. trans. To shed light upon, illuminate. rare.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. viii. xvii. (1495) 325 The mone is alway halfe shyned of the sonne. a 1700 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. III. 355 God shines his Son, the Son God's shine reflects. |
9. a. To cause (light) to shine, emit (rays). Also fig.
| 1588 Greene Perimedes H 2 b, Her eyes shines fauour, courtesie, and grace. 1590 ― Never too late (1600) E 3, Eyes that lighten and doe shine, Beames of loue that are diuine. 1647 J. Saltmarsh Spark. Glory 118 God..shines forth his wisdom..upon the world. 1661 Feltham Resolves ii. xvi. 211 If it be but by reflection only, the beams are reverberated bright, as is the Sun that shines them. 1852 Thackeray Esmond ii. vii, She approached, shining smiles upon Esmond. |
b. To show the light of (a lantern).
| 1895 P. H. Emerson Birds, etc. Norfolk Broadland xxxvi. 103 The sparrow-catcher comes of a night and shines his bright lantern, and the foolish birds fly at it like moths at a candle. |
c. To direct the rays of (a light) on, on to, under, etc.
| 1889 Cent. Dict. 5573/3 The policeman shone his lantern up the alley. 1950 Sun (Baltimore) 14 July 8/4 Two men in the office shined a flashlight under the platform. 1967 P. Shaffer Black Comedy 48 The Colonel takes the torch from Harold and shines it pitilessly in Schuppanzigh's face. 1978 J. Irving World according to Garp xi. 210 The policeman shined his light over Garp. 1979 Sci. Amer. Mar. 85/2 The intense light from this source was shined on a crystal that served as a frequency doubler. |
10. a. to shine down: to surpass in brilliance.
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. i. 20 The French..like Heathen Gods Shone downe the English. 1866 ‘Annie Thomas’ Walter Goring xxxvii, ‘Take it, Walter’, she continued, ‘give it to her; tell her she shines me down.’ |
b. To drive away by shining.
| 1884 Tennyson Becket iii. i, Not The sun himself..Could shine away the darkness of that gap. |
c. to shine up to; to try to please; to make oneself pleasant to. U.S.
| 1882 Century Mag. Oct 827 It was then that David first set out to shine up to her. 1902 S. E. White Blazed Trail xlii. 204 You might shine up to Hilda Farrand and join the rest of the fortune-hunters. 1971 C. Fick Danziger Transcript (1973) 143, I never saw him sell a single secret..or shine up to a Kraut PW. |
11. To cause to shine, put a polish on; orig. U.S. (inflected shined) to black (boots).
| 1613 R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Varnish, shine, set a glosse vpon. 1872 Calverley Arab 27 And thou hintest withal that thou fain would'st shine..these bulgy old boots of mine. 1872 O. W. Holmes Poet Breakf.-t. xii, I wonder if they would find the seven-branched golden candlestick... I should like to..shine it up (excuse my colloquialisms). 1872 B. Harte Heiress of Red Dog (1879) 188 Shine your boots, sir? 1892 Gunter Miss Dividends ix, While his large boots have been very brightly shined by the boot-black. 1929 W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 105 He wore a derby and shined shoes. |
12. U.S. (Hunting.) To throw the light of a lantern, etc. on (the eyes of an animal); to locate the position of (an animal) in this way.
| 1845 [W. T. Thompson] Chron. Pineville 169 (Bartlett Dict. Amer. 1860) You see the way we does to shine the deer's eyes is this—we holds the pan of fire so, on the left shoulder, and carries the gun at a trail in the right hand. 1872 Schele de Vere Americanisms 541 Daniel Boone, while fire-hunting, shined a pair of mild blue eyes which struck him as not belonging to the game he was seeking. 1910 Roosevelt Afr. Game Trails x. 226 We had discovered that the way to get this..nocturnal animal was by ‘shining’ it with a lantern at night. |