▪ I. sheel, v. Now dial.
(ʃiːl)
Forms: α. 5 schel, 6 scheill, 7 s(c)heele, scheil, 7–9 sheal, 8–9 shiel, 9 sheil, 8– sheel; β. 5 schylle 6 shyll, 6– shill.
[Related to shale n.1; the early history is obscure.
The α forms possibly repr. OE. *scielian (in áscylian ‘enucleare’), f. scealu shale n.1 The β forms, exc. in the northern examples, perh. belong to a distinct though synonymous word, a derivative of shell n.]
trans. To shell; to take off the husk or outer covering of. Hence sheeled ppl. a.
| α 1473 Rental Bk. Cupar-Angus (1879) I. 182 Payand..ix chalder of vitale of the kyngis met, half beir half meil, the meil twise schelit. 1508, 1583–4 [implied in sheeling vbl. n.]. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. iv. 219 That's a sheal'd Pescod. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. ii. (1637) 116 Rosetta..perhaps deriued of Ros, which signifieth Rice, and so named for the abundance that it vttereth; (they here shealing monethly three hundred quarters). 1612 in Trans. Cumb. & Westm. Archæol. Soc. (N.S.) III. (1893) 155 That the Milner..doe neither sheele nor grinde any Skillinge of any Mans dwelling in another Lordshipp. 1681 Ibid. 159 Noe Tennant or Farmer..Shall grinde or Scheele any Wheate, Bigg, Barley, Pease..att any other Mill. 1709 Lady G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (S.H.S.) 79, 10 stone twist shield meall. 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 457 After sheeling, the seed should be well cleansed from bad seeds. 1801 Farmer's Mag. Apr. 214 It was first shealed on the barley mill. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf xvii, We took their swords and pistols as easily as ye wad shiel peacods. a 1824 G. Beattie John o' Arnha' etc. (1826) 83 She mussels sheel'd, an' wan her bread. 1861 Smiles Engineers II. 105 Barley was shealed by pounding the grains with water in the hollow of a stone until by that means the husks were rubbed off. 1862 A. Hislop Prov. Scot. 101 He would need to be twice sheeled and ance grund that deals wi' you. |
| β c 1440 Promp. Parv. 446/1 Schyllyn owte, of coddys, exsi(li)quo. Schyllyn, or schylle notys, enuclio. Ibid. 446/2 Schyllyn oysterys, and thyngys closyd yn schellys, excortico. 1483 Cath. Angl. 336/1 Schylled pyse.., pise exilique. 1508 in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1510, 747/1, 4 bollas..albe et bone farrine vulgariter nuncupat. twise schillit mele. c 1522 Skelton Why nat to Court? 108 Or pescoddes they may shyll. 1702 Lady G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (S.H.S.) 66 For Shild pies..2 peck out of 5 p. 1703 Thoresby in Ray Philos. Lett. (1718) 336 To Shill, as Pease to take them out of the Swads. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 163 When the barley is twice shilled, i.e. put twice through the mill, on purpose to take off the rind more compleatly, and then grinded small. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds Gloss. s.v. Shill, ‘Shillin' peis’; ‘shillin' beins’—unshelling peas and beans. |
▪ II. sheel(l, sheeld(e
see shiel, shield.