▪ I. shield, n.
(ʃiːld)
Forms: 1 scild, scyld, sceld, 3–4 s(s)eld, 3–5 sheld, (cheld), 3–6 scheld, 4 sceild, scheeld, (cheeld, schuld), 4–5 scelde, schild(e, schylde, shilde, 4–6 s(c)helde, sheeld, 4, 6 schield, (childe), 4–8 scheild, 5 scheelde, scheyld, shyld, (shulde), 5–6 shild, shylde, sheelde, 6 shielde, 7 sheild, 6– shield.
[Com. Teut.: OE. (*scield) sceld masc. = OFris. skeld, schild, OS. scild (MLG. schild masc., neut.), MDu. schilt, schild- masc. (mod.Du. schild neut.), OHG. scild masc. (MHG. schilt, schild- masc., G. schild masc., neut.), ON. skjold-r (Sw. sköld, Da. skjold), Goth. skildu-s:—OTeut. *skeldu-z.]
I. 1. a. In ancient and mediæval warfare, and still in that of primitive peoples, an article of defensive armour carried in the hand or attached by a strap to the left arm of a soldier, as a protection from the weapons of the enemy. Sometimes applied spec. to an article of this kind larger than the buckler, which was usually carried in the hand, and smaller than the pavis, which was held by an attendant in front of a knight or archer.
Shields have been made of various materials, as metal, wood, wickerwork covered with skins or leather, etc. The form has varied greatly in different periods and countries; the principal types are (1) the circular shield, usually convex in front, with a boss in the centre; (2) the oblong shield, either flat, or, more commonly, having the form of a portion of a cylinder; and (3) the shield with curved sides tapering to a point at the lower end, which was the prevailing form in Europe during the Middle Ages.
In the Middle Ages the ‘armorial bearings’ of a knight were depicted on his shield, and decorated shields, made for display and not for warlike use, were often hung on walls in churches or other buildings as a memorial of a knight or noble. Hence sense 3.
| Beowulf 325 Setton sæmeþe side scyldas,..wið þæs recedes weal. c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxxv. 4 Ðer ᵹebrec hornas boᵹan sceld sweord & ᵹefeht. 1205 Lay. 23777 Ane scelde gode [1275 sceald]. Ibid. 4212 Heo nomen þa seeldes. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1713 For mony mon myd speres orde haueþ lutle strengþe & mid his schelde [Cott. chelde], Ah [etc.]. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3840 Ȝif he nadde wiþ þe sseld somdel þe dunt yhent Siker he im adde aslawe. a 1300 Cursor M. 2497 On helme and sceild [v.rr. shilde, schild, sheeld]. 13.. K. Alis. 693 (Laud MS.) An horne in þe forehede amydward Þat wolde perce a shelde hard. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1264 And somme woln haue a Pruce sheeld or a targe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 97 Scipio sigh ones a childe gayliche arrayed, and seide, ‘I wondre nouȝt þat he arrayeþ well his childe [L. scutum], for [etc.].’ c 1418 in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 244 Hem nedethe nether spere ne shulde. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xxiv, Take thi schild and thi spere. 1508 Dunbar Golden Targe 151 Than come, Resoun, with schelde of gold so clere. c 1550 N. Smyth tr. Herodian ii. 22 Lyftynge theyr shyldes and Targettes ouer theyr heades. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 5 His mightie sheld Vpon his manly arme. 16.. Funeral in Popish Times in Q. Eliz. Acad. 34 The helme, Childe [elsewhere shild], sword, the Cote of Armes, to bee layd vppon y⊇ bere in dew order. 1699 Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. Wks. 1720 II. 531 Their common Arms were small Shields, but very large Swords. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 331 Its skin is thick, and covered with brown hair, and the natives make shields of it. 1867 Rep. Paris Univ. Exhib. (1868) II. 489 Two shields, one in iron and one in steel, are the most remarkable of their works. |
† b. Phr. under shield: in battle or combat.
with spear and shield: in battle array; by force of arms.
Obs.| a 1300 K. Horn 53 Hy smyten vnder schelde [Laud selde, Harl. shelde]. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 3096, vi hundred kniȝtes..þat wele couþe juste in feld wiþ stef launce vnder scheld. a 1352 Minot Poems (ed. Hall) iv. 50 Our King and his men held þe felde Stalworthy, with spere and schelde. c 1440 Partonope 2951 Partonope thatt day vnder hys schelde [v.r. sheelde] xx hethen he hathe slayn yn the fylde. 1508 Dunbar Poems liv, Quhai for hir saik, with speir and scheld, Preiffis maist mychtelye in the feld. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. viii. 111 Of Hetruria the ostis vnder scheild Wyth that word stoppit in the samin feild. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 129 Baith pairties..cum to Dunfreis, thair tha diuyde it with speir and scheild. 1829 Scott Anne of G. xxxv, They met, as was the phrase of the time, ‘manful under shield’. Ibid. xxxvi, We bear no malice for what is done in fair fight under shield. |
c. In allusion to the custom of suspending a warrior's shield as a memorial of him.
| 1817 Coleridge Destiny of Nations 9 Seize, then, my soul! from Freedom's trophied dome The Harp which hangeth high between the Shields Of Brutus and Leonidas! |
d. two sides of a shield: two ways of looking at something, two sides to a question;
the other side (or reverse) of the shield: the other side of a question or consideration, the side which is less obvious or which has not been presented (
cf. the reverse of the medal s.v. medal n. 3 b,
Fr. le revers de la médaille).
| ? 1855 A. W. Chapman Let. in R. K. Webb Harriet Martineau (1960) i. 27, I consider it a great misfortune, in one sense,..a blessing, often times, in another. There are two sides to every shield. 1885 C. M. Yonge (title) The two sides of the shield. 1909 P. Collier England & English i. 16 These beef-eating, port-drinking fellows in Piccadilly..are well enough..but this other side of the shield is distressing to look at. Poor, stunted..denizens of the East End. 1911 H. S. Walpole Mr. Perrin & Mr. Traill ii. 24 The reverse of the shield is..given in that first letter to his mother. |
2. transf. and
fig. a. Something serving as a defence against attack or injury. Often in echoes of Biblical language referring to metaphorical armour, as
Ephes. vi. 16.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 193 Habbeð..hope to helme, and soðe luue to shelde, and godes word to swerde. c 1220 Bestiary 161 Ðis neddre siðen he nede sal, makeð seld of his bodi and sildeð his heued. a 1225 Ancren R. 52 Heo to þe ȝunge ȝiueð vuel uorbisne, & scheld to werien ham mide. a 1300 Cursor M. 9972 It [a castle]..standes vs for sceild and targe. 1340 Ayenb. 1 Ich bidde þe hit [þin holy blod] by my sseld auoreye þe wycked uend. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 132 For hys passyon is suffycyent shylde to vs. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. 107 His trew promeis is thy scheild. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (Sommer) 102 b, What shield [shall I find] against the violent passions of Gynecia? 1771 Junius Lett. lix. 305 The favour of his country constitutes the shield which defends him. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia (1863) 69 Again the watery shield was interposed. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. ii. (1856) 20 Strips of heavy sheet-iron..as a shield against the cutting action of the new ice. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits xv. The ‘Times’, No dignity or wealth is a shield from its assault. |
b. Applied (as a Biblical Hebraism: see,
e.g. Ps. xxxiii. 20, lxxxiv. 11) to a personal defender or protector (
esp. to God).
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 29 Þe englas beoþ aa halᵹum mannum on fultume swa swa scyld. a 1000 Phœnix 463 Þam biþ dryhten scyld. c 1275 Five Joys Virg. 13 in O.E. Misc. 87 Beo vre scheld from vre iro. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 532 Thow be my sheld for þy benignite. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 155 Þus lordis ben made schildis of synne for a litel money or worldly seruyce of wickid curatis. 1535 Lyndesay Satyre 3 His Sone, our Sauiour, scheild in necessitie. 1738 Wesley Psalms & Hymns, Ps. iii, But Thou art a Shield for me. a 1833 Sir R. Grant Hymn, ‘O worship the King’, Our shield and defender, The Ancient of days. |
† c. Government, sway (of a country).
Obs.| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 8 Þe lond lese þe armes, changed is þe scheld. Ibid. 69 Harald, þorgh comon assent, Was corouned nobly, & for kyng þei him helde, Bot þe duke of Normundie to William felle þe schelde. |
† d. Shelter, protection (in physical sense).
Obs.| 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 202 Where being benighted, [he] tooke no other shield, To lodge him and his ware then th'open field. 1618 Chapman Hesiod's Georg. ii. 331 But then, betake thee, to the shade that lies, In shield of Rocks. |
3. Her. = escutcheon.
shield-of-arms: an escutcheon with armorial bearings.
shield of pretence = escutcheon of pretence (
escutcheon 1 c),
cf. inescutcheon.
| c 1320 Sir Beues (A) 1322 Tirri on Beues be-held And seȝ þe boiste wiþ a scheld. c 1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 153 L'eskou de gules [glossed a reed cheeld] ad porté. 1531 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 48 Item, a lyttell shelde of golde Innamyled with whyt and grene. 1540 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 463 Concessit dicto W. et heredibus tallie unum duplex lie tressour auri in eorum lie schield circa eorum arma. a 1552 Leland Collect. (1715) I. 234 Syr Maurice bare in a Grene Shild thre Bores of Golde. 1562 Legh Armory 38 b, The fift [worthy] was Iudas Machabeus, whose Shielde was Or, ii. Rauens in Pale proper... The viii. was Charlemaine, & he bare the Ierusalem Shielde, Impaled with the imperiall Cote. 1707 Hearne Collect. 5 July (O.H.S.) II. 24 Persons regard Dr. Woodward's Shield as ‘a banter’. 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 110/1 Our author's [Beaumont's] shield may be seen in any Baronetage. 1864 Boutell Her. Hist. & Pop. i. (ed. 3) 4 Such is the origin of Shields-of-Arms. 1868 Cussans Handbk. Her. iv. (1893) 69 The Inescutcheon, or Shield of Pretence, is [etc.]. 1905 C. Davenport Jewellery viii. 142 The three legs in the shield-of-arms of the Isle of Man. |
4. An ornamental piece of plate (more or less in the form of a shield) offered for competition in an athletic or other contest.
| 1868 Wimbledon Annual 23 The ‘Elcho’ Challenge Shield. 1898 Field 23 Apr. 625/3 It has now been decided that the clubs shall jointly hold the shield during the ensuing twelve months. |
II. A protective covering or shelter.
5. Applied to certain parts of animal bodies. [
= G.
schild, shield of a boar, a tortoise, etc.]
a. The thick, tough skin upon the sides and flanks of the boar;
spec. an article of food (in full,
shield of brawn), made by placing a piece of this skin round the inside of a cylindrical mould and filling up with meat, and cooking until soft and tender. (
Cf. brawn n. 3.)
| [1337 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 32 Festum Sci. Cuthberti in Sept., In 2 scutis de Braune pro festo empt. a diversis.] 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 58 Wyth scheldez of wylde swyn. c 1400 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) v, Þei haue herd skynne and stronge flessh; and specially vpon þe shoulder, þat is called þe shelde. 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Hunting f ii b, The sheldys on the sholderis: therof shall .ii. be. a 1552 Leland Collect. (1715) I. 231 By eating of a sheelde of a wilde bore he got an appetite. 1625 Massinger New Way iv. i, Did you not deuoure this morning, A shield of Brawne, and a barrell of Colchester oysters? 1641 J. Murrell Cookerie (ed. 5) 5 A Shield or Collar of Brawne. 1705 Poor Robin Observ. Feb., They then look like a Shield of Brawn at Shrovetide out of Date. 1819 Scott Ivanhoe vii, Wamba..opposed to the beard of the Jew a shield of brawn, which he plucked from beneath his cloak. 1861 T. L. Peacock Gryll Grange xxxii, You will always find a piece of cold roast beef and a tankard of good ale; and just now a shield of brawn. |
| allusive uses. 1607 Lingua ii. i. C 4, If they would vse no other Bucklers in warre, but sheilds of Brawne. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xiv. 135 The shield of a Boare..is a good Buckler against that cruell Enemy called Hunger. |
b. Zool. A protective plate covering a part; a scute, a carapace, a plastron, or the like.
| 1704 Phil. Trans. XXVI. 1627 These were the Shields of the Cochineel Flies. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 352 The shield of the breast [of the mole-cricket] is of a firm texture. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 65 Shell a conical shield, with the summit inclined. 1857 Agassiz Contrib. Nat. Hist. U.S. I. 255 [In Turtles] The dorsal shield, usually called by the French name ‘carapace’, is connected by a bridge with another shield, commonly called ‘plastron’. 1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1860, 234 Pleurobranchus has a thin, flat horny shield. 1880 Huxley Crayfish i. 24 The great shield or carapace is very easily separated from the thorax and abdomen. |
† 6. The seat of a privy; hence, a privy.
Sc. Obs. [
Cf., for the sense, F.
garde-robe.]
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 658 This fals tratour wnder the schield wes set, Quhilk to his cuming tuke gude tent and cuir, With ane lang speit..Amang the bowellis vpwart in the breist Straik him to deid. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 65 Quhen he passit to the scheild to purge his wame. 1566 Burgh Rec. Edin. (1875) III. 222 That all personis that hes scheildis clenge the samin or euer thai be full, sua that thai brek nocht furth and rin in the streit. 1582 Ibid. (1882) IV. 259 Middingis, scheildes, furrouris [etc.]. |
7. A framework erected for the protection of workmen engaged in boring or tunnelling and pushed forward as the work progresses; also, a watertight case used in submarine tunnelling to keep back quicksands and inrushes of water.
| 1837 L. Hebert Engin. & Mech. Encycl. II. 805 The work [Thames tunnel] was commenced in 1825... To give security to the men in excavating, Mr. Brunel invented a cast-iron shield or frame... This shield [etc.] 1838 Civ. Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 290/1 Two rows of close whole timber piles should be driven..with space sufficient for the shield to travel. 1895 Daily News 5 June 7/3 A circular shield with a cutting edge is driven by sheer hydraulic pushing through the soil. |
8. a. A protective device attached to a field-gun in order to shelter the gunners from rifle-fire.
| 1898 E. S. May Field Artillery 313 Personally I do not believe in shields; if really bullet proof, they are so heavy as to hamper mobility. Ibid., Even without shields men working quick-firing guns would be slightly less exposed than they are at present. |
b. A protective device in clothing, as a
dress-shield.
| 1884, etc. [see dress-shield s.v. dress n. 4 a]. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 321/3 Kleinert pays for the dress if it is ruined by perspiration, if his shields are used in it. |
c. Mech. (See
quots.)
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 316 Shield. (1) A covering employed to protect the bearings and spindles of emery-grinding machines from the action of the gritty dust. (2) A guard placed over or in front of band and circular saws and portions of machinery to protect the workmen from accidents. 1967 J. L. & G. H. F. Nayler Dict. Mech. Engin. 323 Shield, a contrivance or covering, protective plate, or screen, to protect machinery or the operator, from damage or accident. |
d. Physics. An electrically conducting cover of a device or apparatus intended to protect it from external electric or magnetic fields or to reduce or eliminate interference radiated by the device or apparatus itself.
Cf. screen n.1 6.
| 1919 J. A. Fleming Thermionic Valve ii. 66 (caption) Fig. 34 shows the valve..with copper-gauze shield for protecting from external electric fields. 1947 R. Lee Electronic Transformers & Circuits vi. 174 Multiple shields increase the action..because eddy currents induced in the shields set up fluxes opposing the stray field. 1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. vi. 32 It is often desirable to shield part of the circuit from electromagnetic fields. The shields can absorb, reflect, or degrade (by multiple internal reflections) the electromagnetic energy. The most commonly used shields are braided copper. |
e. Physics. A mass of material,
usu. lead or concrete, intended to absorb neutrons and other ionizing radiation emitted by a reactor or accelerator. See also
biological shield s.v. biological a.
| 1933 Proc. R. Soc. A. CXLI. 262 The steel shield S prevents the impact of secondary electrons upon the glass walls. 1947 M. D. Kamen Radioactive Tracers in Biol. iv. 93 Protection against γ radiation is best afforded by working with remote control devices behind heavy lead shields at least 2–3 inches thick. 1962 Newnes Conc. Encycl. Nuclear Energy 756/2 Such a shield is an iron or barium loaded concrete. The main part of the shield in most reactors, called the bulk or biological shield, is made of such material. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIII. 319/1 Typically, a ‘core barrel’..is enclosed in a thermal shield, a pressure vessel, a water shield against neutrons, and a blanket of reinforced concrete for gamma-ray absorption. |
9. The lower front part of a ploughshare.
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 415 The share proper, consisting of the shield, terminating in the point e, and of..the feather or cutter. 1875 in Knight Dict. Mech. |
III. Applied to things shaped like a shield.
† 10. Used to render
OF. escu as the name of a coin: see ecu.
Cf. scute n.1 1.
Obs. rare.
| c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 278 Wel koude he in eschaunge sheeldes selle. 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1875) 45 The florens in Chaucers tyme..was of the valewe of thre shillinges, foure pence..or at the leaste, of two shillinges tenne pence farthinge..some of them beinge called ‘florens de scuto’, or of the valewe of the ‘shelde’, or frenche crowne. |
11. Horticulture.
= escutcheon 3 d,
scutcheon n.1 4 c.
| 1572 L. Mascall Plant. & Graff. 22 All other maner of trees aforesayde, doe take verye well to be graffed wyth Cyons, and also in the shielde. 1606 Ram Little Dodeon D 8, To graffe in the Shield, is to be done in Iune or Iuly, with the rynde. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 262 Sharpen that end of the Bark below the Bud, like a Shield or Escutcheon. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 306 The shield being inserted in the usual manner, another with an orifice in it, to admit the bud of the first, is laid over it. |
12. Bot. a. (See
quot. 1806.)
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 75 [A Lichen found] about the bodies of old oak..trees near Holsworthy, Devonshire, abundantly with innumerable shields. 1806 W. Turton tr. Linn. Nat. Syst. VII. Expl. Terms, Shield, the saucer-like fructification of lichens. 1862 Chamb. Encycl. III. 352/1 The species of the genus Lecanora are crustaceous lichens, with a flat uniform thallus, and unstalked shields. |
b. (See
quot.)
| 1840 Paxton Bot. Dict., Shield, a broad table-like process in the flowers of Stapelia. |
c. One of the cells forming the covering to the male organs of
Characeæ.
| 1875 Bennett & Dyer Sachs' Bot. 284 Each of these cells forms a segment of the shell of the ball, and they are hence called Shields. |
13. Embryology. (See
quot.)
| 1913 J. W. Jenkinson Vertebrate Embryology 135 There is distinguishable in the blastoderm at the close of segmentation a circular or oval area placed excentrically towards the posterior end; this area is the embryonic shield. |
† 14. ? A sheet of ice.
Obs.| 1624 Maldon (Essex) Court Deeds Bundle 108 fol. 9 Payd to Willyam Brand and Symon Crauford for breaking the sheilds of ice in the ryver..this last winter. |
15. a. A keyhole plate. ?
Obs. [
= G.
schild.]
Cf. escutcheon 3 c,
scutcheon n.1 4 e.
| 1649 Caldwell Papers (Maitland Club) I. 103 For ane lock and sheild to ye new chalmer dore of Cauldwell 3 2 0. |
b. Cutlery. A small metal (usually ‘German silver’) plate fixed on the handle of a penknife or pocket-knife, for ornament or to be engraved with the owner's name.
| 1876 Callis Cutlery (Brit. Manuf. Industr.) 163 About 1730 engraving of the shields and bolsters of pen and pocket knives..was commenced. |
c. (See
quot.)
| 1870 C. C. Black tr. Demmin's Weapons of War 369 The flat piece of metal which is sometimes affixed to the bottom of the hilt is called a shield. |
d. A policeman's badge of office.
U.S.| 1903 N.Y. Evening Post 29 Oct. 3 The ex-policeman who turned in his shield in September. 1956 ‘E. McBain’ 87th Precinct (1959) 19 Why don't you turn in your shield? Become a hackie or something? 1970 E. R. Johnson God Keepers xv. 167 Nobody said that a detective rating..and a shield provided detectives with all the right answers. |
16. a. gen. A flat or slightly convex surface more or less resembling a shield in shape.
| 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps ii. §21. 53 The shield of stone which, usually supported by a central pillar, occupied the head of early windows. 1873 Miss Thackeray Old Kensington xii. 100 A faded Italian shield of looking-glass. |
b. A shield-shaped centre of a chair-back.
| 1897 [see shield-back adj., sense 20 a below]. |
17. A fancy breed of pigeons, of various colours.
| 1855 Poultry Chron. III. 140/1 (table) Toys, or any other Variety [of pigeon] not mentioned above; such as Suabians.., Shields, Swiss, &c. 1868 Tegetmeier Pigeons xxi. 174 The Shields are so termed from bearing on their wings a coloured mark like a shield, on a white ground. 1874–6 Fulton's Bk. Pigeons 352 Shields. The colours of these are Black, Red, Yellow, Blue, and Silver. They are invariably plain-headed birds. |
18. Physical Geogr. a. A large, seismically stable mass of Archaean basement rock having the form of a flat or gently convex peneplained platform and
usu. forming the nucleus of a continent. Freq. with capital initial in proper names, as
Baltic shield,
Canadian Shield. [
tr. G.
schild (introduced in this sense by E. Suess
Das Antlitz der Erde (1888) II. iii. ii. 42).]
In
quot. 1968
ellipt. for
Canadian Shield.
| 1906 H. B. C. Sollas tr. Suess's Face of Earth II. iii. ii. 30 The whole of the north-east of America, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Mackenzie..belongs to a broad table-land of horizontal Palaeozoic beds, from beneath which the Archaean foundation crops out in the middle of the table-land not unlike a flat shield. This Archaean shield is thus surrounded by a ring of horizontally stratified sediments... It is to the exposed Archaean surface that we give the name of the Canadian shield. 1906 [see Baltic a. 3]. 1915 C. Schuchert Text-bk. Geol. II. xxi. 461 Most of the present continents have been formed around ancient protuberances of the lithosphere, the nuclear lands or shields. 1939 A. K. Lobeck Geomorphol. i. 4 Suess showed that certain substantial areas of the earth have always been rigid and unyielding, as, for example, the Canadian and Baltic Shields of America and Europe, the eastern Siberia Shield of Asia, [etc.]. 1963 D. W. & E. E. Humphries tr. Termier's Erosion & Sedimentation ii. 40 The ancient shields, which are also called ‘old platforms’, are none other than peneplains which have almost attained a final form. 1968 Beaver Autumn 14/1 He was with the voyageurs somewhere out in the bush covering some historic route over the Shield. 1969 Bennison & Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles iii. 41 Before the break up of the continents the Lewisian rocks were probably contiguous with the Canadian-Greenland shield, one of the original continental cores. 1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth iii. 55/1 The oldest continental regions, the Precambrian Shields, are often dominated by igneous rocks such as granite or by highly metamorphosed rocks such as gneiss. |
b. The dome of a shield volcano.
| 1937 Bull. Volcanologique I. 94 Composite structures resulting from the accumulations of a series of shifting vents of shield type. 1943 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. CCXLI. 241 On the north and northwest its great lava shield abuts against the dormant or extinct volcanoes of Mauna Kea and Hualalai, and on its southeastern slope rests the smaller, younger shield of Kilauea volcano. 1976 Sci. Amer. Jan. 33/2 Olympus Mons is enormous by terrestrial standards. Its shield is between 500 and 600 kilometers across, some five times larger than the largest shield on the earth. |
IV. Combinations.
19. Obvious combinations:
a. simple attributive, as
shield-boss; denoting a person armed with or carrying a shield, as
shield-boy,
shield-man; (sense 15 d)
shield number.
| 1910 G. Henderson Norse Infl. Celtic Scot. ii. 42 Sword-axe, *shield-boss and cauldron. |
| 1607 Middleton Five Gallants iv. viii. 306 Torch-bearers and *shield-boys. |
| 1892 Rider Haggard Nada xxv. 210 Close up, *shield-men—close up! |
| 1972 J. Gores Dead Skip i. 8 The policeman..repeated his name, adding his *shield number. |
b. objective, as
shield-maker;
shield-bearing,
shield-losing adjs.; also
shield-breaking adj. and
n.| 1824 Symmons tr. æschylus' Agamem. 64 Many proud *shield-bearing men. |
| 1867 Tennyson Passing of Arthur 109 *Shield-breakings, and the clash of brands. 1870 Bryant Iliad xxi. 485 Shield-breaking Mars began the assault. |
| 1848 B. D. Walsh Aristoph. Clouds i. iv, When they saw the *shield-losing Cleónymus. |
| 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 686/19 Hic scutarius, a *scheldmaker. 1908 Rider Haggard Ghost Kings xviii. 260, I have sold the hides to the shield-makers. |
c. similative, as
shield-form,
shield-formed,
shield-like,
shield-shaped adjs.; parasynthetic, as
shield-backed,
shield-gilled,
shield-headed adjs.| 1880 *Shield backed [see regency 7 b]. 1895 Comstock Study Insects 115 The Shield-backed Grasshoppers. Ibid. 146 The Shield-backed Bugs. |
| 1784 tr. Spallanzani's Diss. Nat. Hist. II. 275 The pumpion with *shield-form fruit. 1835 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XXIII. 640/2 Of the three [laminae] between the eyes, the central is shield-form. |
| 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 108 Clipeus. Round, *shield-formed... Scutum. Angular or ovate shield-formed. 1835 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XXIII. 640/1 The central lamina of the three between the edges shield-formed and acuminate. |
| 1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Instit. 1860, 211 Order Scutibranchiata. (*Shield-gilled Crawlers). |
| 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 307 *Shield-headed Fish-Parasites (Peltocephala). |
| 1552 Udall tr. Geminus' Anat. C j, The patyll or the kne bone, called of some men the *shyldelyke bone. 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. v. 227 Flat shield-like processes. |
| 1601 Weever Mirr. Martyrs C 8 b, If euer *sheild-shapt Comet was portent Of Criticke day, foule and pernitious. 1839 Lindley Introd. Bot. iii. (ed. 3) 448 Shield-shaped (clypeatus). 1857 A. Gray First Less. Bot. (1866) Gloss. |
20. a. Special comb.:
shield-arm, the left arm (
cf. shield-hand);
shield-back a., having a shield-shaped back;
† shield-bone, a shoulder-blade;
shield-bud, a bud and a portion of the bark surrounding it used in grafting; hence
shield-budding, the operation of grafting such a bud;
shield-cartilage,
-gristle = thyroid 1 a;
shield-cell Bot., one of the component cells of the reproductive organ in
Characeæ;
shield-guard, a form of trigger-guard used by some continental manufacturers of shot guns and rifles;
shield-hand, an alleged ancient designation for the left hand (
cf. shield-arm);
shield-hedge = shield-wall;
† shield-knave (
= G.
schildknabe)
= shield-bearer;
shield-leaved a. (
rare), having peltate leaves;
shield-lion nonce-wd., a lion emblazoned upon a heraldic shield;
shield-maid,
-maiden = shield-may;
shield-money = scutage;
shield-pin, a safety-pin;
shield-plate Zool., ?
= scute n.1 4;
shield-ring = shield-wall;
shield-ship (see
quot.);
shield volcano [
tr. G.
schildvulkan (H. Reck 1910, in
Geol. und palæont. Abhandl. IX. 84)], a volcano having the form of a very broad dome with gently sloping sides, characteristic of the eruption of basic lavas of low viscosity;
shield-wall arch. [
OE. scildweall], the interlocked shields of a body of men fighting on foot;
† shield-work, embroidery in the form of shields.
| 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. iii. xv. 58 A great gash in his *shield arm. |
| 1897 K. W. Clouston Chippendale Period Eng. Furnit. 65 In the ‘*shield back’ chair, which is Hepplewhite's favourite shape, the shield and its interior ornament making the splat never touch the seat of the chair at all. 1939 Country Life 11 Feb. p. xxvii (Advt.), Fine Antique Hepplewhite Mahogany Shield-back Arm Chair with attractively carved splats. 1978 Morecambe Guardian 14 Mar. 9/7 Other new items are shield-back dining chairs and matching carver chairs with loose drop-in seat. |
| c 1600 Leg. Guy Warw. xxiv, One of his *sheeld-bones to this day Hangs in the citye of Coventrye. |
| 1891 L. H. Bailey Nursery-bk. (1896) 95 This [style of budding] is known as shield-budding..A *shield-bud is shown natural size. |
| 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 301 All the different modes of budding may be reduced to two:—*shield-budding..and flute-budding. |
| 1881 Behnke Mechanism Human Voice (ed. 2) 51 *Shield (Thyroid) Cartilage. |
| 1881 Bentley Man. Bot. (ed. 5) 391 The globule..consists of eight valves, or, as they have been termed, *shield-cells. |
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 636 The first is called in Greeke θυροειδής the *Shield-Gristle. |
| 1892 Greener Breech-Loader 84 The *shield-guard, or horn before guard. |
| 1891 Sir D. Wilson Right Hand 202 The recognition of the *shield-hand..has already been referred to as one familiar to the ancient Greek and Roman. |
| 1892 Rider Haggard Nada xxv. 210 Straight at the *shield-hedge drove Umslopogaas. |
| 1627 Hakewill Apol. (1630) 165 *Shieldknave or armour bearer to Charles the Great. |
| 1860 Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. vi. iii. 11 An outer spray of any *shield-leaved tree. |
| 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1186 Sir Lancelot, having swum the river-loops—His blue *shield-lions cover'd—softly drew Behind the twain. |
| 1851 Thorpe North. Mythol. I. 156 The Valkyriur..are also called..Skialdmeyiar (*shield-maids). 1889 R. B. Anderson tr. Rydberg's Teut. Myth. 192 Shield-maids (amazons) occupy the position which in the original was held by giantesses. |
| 1849 Kemble Sax. Eng. i. xii. I. 402 The Anglosaxon belief in the *Shield-maidens. 1870 Morris Story of Volsungs ix, A great company of shield-maidens. |
| 1877 Green Hist. Eng. People I. 164 To commute their service for sums payable to the royal treasury under the name of ‘scutage’ or *shield-money. |
| 1883 H. P. Spofford in Harper's Mag. Mar. 576/2 They are..*shield-pins, and couldn't prick her if they tried. |
| 1855 Gosse Mar. Zool. i. 99 Cephalana. Segments equally provided with appendages; no *shield-plates. |
| 1892 Rider Haggard Nada xxv. 210 The *shield-ring wheels in upon itself. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Shield-ship, one carrying movable shields to protect the heavy guns except at the moment of firing. |
| [1911 Geol. Mag. VIII. 59 The so-called ‘Schild’ volcanoes in Iceland.] 1911 Geogr. Jrnl. XXXVII. 666 These *shield-volcanoes rise from a roundish base, with a gently convex surface surmounted by an elevated ring surrounding the crater. 1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xx. 457 Hawaii..has been built up from the sea floor by the coalescence of several shield volcanoes. 1977 Whitaker's Almanack 1978 1037/1 The Isla Fernandina is the summit of a very large shield volcano rising from the sea floor to 1,495 metres above sea-level. |
| Beowulf 3118 Þonne stræla storm, strengum ᵹebæded, scoc ofer *scildweall. 1880 Tennyson Battle of Brunanburh i, He with his brother..Brake the shield-wall. |
| a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 22 His gown is all *Shield-work on azure [L. cærulea indutus scutulata]. |
b. In book-names (chiefly translations from
mod. Latin) of animals, birds and insects, with reference to shield-like markings, or to the shield-like character or form of the scute or carapace.
shield snake, a venomous southern African snake,
Aspidelaps scutatus, distinguished by a large scale on its head.
| 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 371 *Shield-Animal⁓cules (Aspidiscidæ). |
| 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. 410 Cassida nebulosa. The Clouded *Shield-Beetle. 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 196 Shield-Beetles (Cossyphidæ). |
| 1882 Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 104 Scutata, or *Shield Bugs. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 303 Cochineal..was proved by the observations of Lewenhoeck to be.. the female of that species of *shield-louse, or coccus, discovered in Mexico, so long ago as 1518. |
| 1855 J. E. Gray (title) Catalogue of the *Shield Reptiles in..the British Museum. |
| 1850 A. White List Specim. Crustacea Brit. Mus. 84 Apus cancriformis. *Shield-Shrimp. |
| 1870 Nicholson Man. Zool. xxxiv. (1875) 253 The *Shield-slaters (Cassidina). |
| 1910 F. W. Fitzsimons Snakes S. Afr. iv. 84 This snake is known as the *Shield Snake, because it has a large scale on its nose which is partly detached at the sides. 1973 Stand. Encycl. S. Afr. IX. 613/1 The shield-snake is egg-laying. |
| 1863 Wood Illustr. Nat. Hist. III. 70 The Philippine *Shield-tail (Uropeltis Philippinus). |
| 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 331 *Shield-Urchins (Scutellidæ). 1896 tr. Boas' Text-bk. Zool. 138 Shield-urchins or Clypeastridæ. |
c. In book-names of plants, as
shield-fern, various forms of the genus
Aspidium;
shield-flower, any plant of the genus
Aspidistra.
| 1814 F. Pursh Flora Amer. Septentr. II. 709 *Shield-fern. Aspidium. 1817 Purton Brit. Plants II. 506 Aspidium filix mas. Common Hedge Shield-fern. Ibid. 508 Aspidium Thelypteris. Marsh Shield-fern. Ibid. Aspidium Oreopteris. Heath Shield-fern. 1889 Hardwicke's Sci. Gossip XXV. 46/2 Male shield fern. |
| 1884 W. Miller Plant-n. 125/1 *Shield-flower. The genus Aspidistra. |
Add:
[I.] [3.] b. Astron. (With capital initial.) The constellation Scutum. Formerly in full *
Sobieski's Shield n.| [1928 Funk's Stand. Dict., Shield of Sobieski.] 1960 P. Moore Guide to Stars v. 51 Adjoining it [sc. Aquila] is one of the modern groups—Scutum, the Shield, which contains a magnificent star-cluster known popularly as the Wild Duck. 1979 R. Kerrod Stars & Planets 38/2 Scutum, the Shield, is another tiny constellation, and because it straddles the Milky Way it has rich star fields and is a fine region to sweep with binoculars. |
▪ II. shield, v. (
ʃiːld)
Forms: 1–2
scildan, (
ᵹescildan), 1
sceldan,
sceoldan,
scyldan, (2
sculdan), 3
scilden,
shildenn,
sschild,
ssilde, (
schuld), 3–4
shild,
sschilde, 3–5
silde,
schild(e,
scheld, (
ssulde), 3–6
shelde, 4
ssylde,
sceild, 4–5
scild,
shilde,
schylde,
s(c)held(e, (
schulde), 4–6
shylde, 5
sheelde, (
scholde), 5–6
scheild, 6
sheild,
shielde, 7
sheeld, 6–
shield.
[OE. scildan, ᵹescildan, f. scild shield n. Cf. G. schilden, ON. skjalda, to provide with a shield.] 1. a. trans. To protect (a person or object) by the interposition of some means of defence; to afford shelter to; to protect (an accused person, etc.) by authority or influence. Const.
from,
† of, also (
OE. and early
ME.)
† with.
Often used in precatory formulas:
cf. 5.
| Beowulf 1658 ætrihte wæs guð ᵹetwæfed, nymðe mec god scylde. c 825 Vesp. Ps. xc. 14 Ic..ᵹescildu hine [Vulg. protegam eum]. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 238 Scilde hine wiþ cyle. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 53 Þe feder and þe sune and þe halie gast iscilde us þer wið and wið alle sunnen. c 1200 Vices & Virtues (1888) 23 Ðe ðie muȝen scilden fram ðese ȝewerȝede gaste(s). 12.. Moral Ode 299 (Egerton MS.) Sculde him elc man þe wile he mai, of þos helle þine. c 1290 St. Brandan 559 in S. Eng. Leg. 235 Seint Brendan seide, þoruȝ godes grace we schullen schilde þe. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7355 Mercurius, þat vs saues & schildes, Haþ vs brought vnto þys yldes. c 1386 Chaucer Sir Thopas 197 God shilde his cors fro shonde. c 1403 Clanvowe Cuckow & Night. 259 And shilde us fro the Cukkow and his lore. 1565 J. Phillip Patient Grissell 1638 (Malone Soc.) Besechinge God to sheild thee from all in conuenience. 1575 Gascoigne Glasse Govt. i. v. Wks. 1910 II. 26 So must the father shylde His youthfull Sonnes, that they be not beguylde, By wicked world. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 63 Thow shalt bee shielded with my protection alway. 1605 Chapman, etc. Eastward Hoe i. A 2 b, And as for my rising by other mens fall; God shield me. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 34 If the kinder Pow'rs Preserve our Plains, and shield the Mantuan Tow'rs. 1797 Coleridge Christabel 254 O shield her! shield sweet Christabel! 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms iii. 140 For there was a power in the gracious skies To shield their saints from ill. 1861 O. W. Holmes Agnes v. 10 The love that won her girlish charms Must shield her matron fame. 1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 406 The sky shade attached, to shield the lens from the sun's rays. |
b. Electr. = screen v. 1 c. Const.
from,
against. Also
absol.| 1922 Wireless World 1 July 416/1 The high amplifications possible with multi-stage valve receivers..lead to unexpected results when endeavouring to shield instruments from radio frequency fields. 1935 F. E. Terman Measurements in Radio Engin. xiv. 342 There are circumstances when it is desirable to shield against electrostatic fields without interfering in any way with the magnetic fields which are present. 1970 J. Shepherd et al. Higher Electr. Engin. (ed. 2) vii. 226 Sometimes sufficient shielding can be obtained by a few short-circuited copper turns, placed round the object to be shielded in such a direction that the axis of the turns is in the direction of the magnetic field. |
2. absol. To offer a defence, to act as a shield.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xviii. §4 Ac siððan he his hispinge ᵹehered hæfde, þa scylde he onᵹean swiðe unᵹeþyldelice. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 440 Þer he busked hym a bour, þe best þat he myȝt..For to schylde fro the schene, oþer any schade kest. 1822 Byron Juan viii. cvi, The truly brave, When they behold the brave oppress'd with odds, Are touched with a desire to shield and save. 1849 Robertson Serm. Ser. i. xxi. (1866) 348 A desire to shield from pain. |
† 3. To arm with a shield.
Obs.| c 1205 Lay. 4727 Brenne wes swiðe wrað & bannede is ferde scheldede his scalken. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxxix. 333 Whan sir Tristram was..wel shelded and swerded. 1667 Denham Direct. Painter ii. ii. 126 But neither riding Pegasus for speed, Nor with the Gorgon shielded at his need. |
| fig. 1576 Gascoigne Droome of Doomesday, Let. Bittern. Death Wks. 1910 II. 440 Armed with Fayth, shylded with Hope, strengthned with Charitie. |
† 4. To ward off, to keep away. (With material or immaterial object.) Also with
off.
Obs.| a 1400 Leg. Rood viii. 259 God schop me a scheld, schame to schilde. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 631/1 They brought with them theyr usuall weedes, fitt to sheild the cold. 1657 W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc ii. 253 Whose favours Peireskius made use of only in deprecating and shielding of, the dangers and discommodities of his friends. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. II. 259 He saw only one method of shielding off the miseries that threatened the state. 1788 Massachusetts Spy 23 Oct. 2/1 The reason why the poison did not prove fatal,..is supposed to be owing to her being bit through the cloth, which shielded much of the poison from her hand. 1822 ‘B. Cornwall’ Poet. Wks., Lysander & Ione i, As though A spirit of goodness peep'd from out the earth To shield decay. |
† 5. In deprecatory
phr. God shield, usually with a clause or sentence as direct object, rarely with addition of an indirect object; also
absol. as an exclamation:
= God forbid.
Obs.| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1347 Þat he in þine bendes come god it ssilde me. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1776 ‘God schylde’, quod þe schalk, ‘þat schal not be-falle!’ c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 20 God shilde that it sholde so bifalle. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3521 Bot me to do slike a dede, driȝtin it schilde! 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 9 Ah God shield, man, that I should clime. 1589 Almond for Parrat E 3, Bishops were the smallest bugs that were aimed at in this extraordinary beneuolence, God shield the court haue escapt their collections. 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xii. lxxi. (1612) 296 No Clarke will so expound that Text, God shield they should, say I. 1674 Blount Glossogr. (ed. 4). |