▪ I. shire, n.
(ʃaɪə(r))
Forms: 1–3 sc{iacu}r, (1 sciir, sc{yacu}r, -sc{iacu}re, 2 -sir, ? scur, 3 ssire), 3–7 schire, 4–7 schyre, (5 schere, -shir, shyr, sher, chyer), 5–6 schyr, (5–7 sheere), 5–9 shyre, (6 schier, schyir, scyre, shyere, sheyre, 6–7 sh(i)ere, shyer, sheire, 7, 9 dial. sheer), 4– shire.
[OE. sc{iacu}r str. fem. = OHG. scîra care, official charge (only in two glosses, scirono negotiorum, scira habat procurat).
The OTeut. form may have been either *skīrō or *skīzō. It has been suggested that *skīzō may represent a pre-Teut. *skeisā-, related to OItalic *koisā- in L. cūra care (:—coira), Pælignian coisatens ‘curaverunt’.
The OE. word occurs once (a 1030) with wk. declension, in the compound ᵹerefsciran ‘villicationis’ (Rule St. Benet ed. Logeman, p. 107).]
† 1. (OE. only.) Official charge; administrative office (e.g. that of a steward, bishop, governor etc.).
| c 725 Corpus Gloss. 692 Dispensatio, scir. Ibid. 1625 Procuratio, sciir. c 893 ælfred Oros. vi. xxxi. 286 Þæt him leofre wæs se cristendom to beganne þonne his scira to habbanne. a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia IX. 259 Hede se ðe scire healde þæt he friðiᵹe and forðiᵹe ælce be ðam ðe hit selest sy. |
† 2. A province or district under the rule of a governor; the see of a bishop, the province of an archbishop, or the like; in wider sense, a country, region, district.
Obs. In the later examples
transf. from sense 3.
| c 893 ælfred Oros. i. i. 19 Ohthere sæde þæt sio scir hatte Halᵹoland þe he on bude. 11.. Fragm. ælfric's Gloss. (1838) 3 Provincia vel pagus, scur. a 1225 Ancr. R. 334 And hu biseinte Sodome & Gomorre,..& alle þe nome⁓cuðe buruhwes, al ane muchele schire, adun into helle grunde. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 299 The bisshop of Canterbire þerof payed was he, For him and alle his schire [Langtoft: pur ly et sa province] þis gift gaf fulle fre. a 1400 Octovian 227 The folk þo com fram eche a schyre Ryȝt ynto Rome. c 1440 Chester Plays (E.E.T.S.) 386 Goe, echon, to dyvers contray, and preach to Shyre and Citty The fayth. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 946 All Mydlame land thai brynt wp in a fyr, Brak parkis doun, distroyit all the schyr. 1574 tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 19 Thyatira..is a Citie of Lydia which is a shyre of Asia the lesse. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 14 As two broad Beacons, set in open fields, Send forth their flames farre off to euery shyre. 1615 Wither Sheph. Hunt. v. G 2 b, Art not thou hee, that but this other yeere Scard'st all the Wolues and Foxes in the sheere? 1601 Holland Pliny v. xxix. I. 107 A third Seignorie or Shire there is that goeth to Apamia. 1824 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. LVII. 407 The dame..Was in all Britany the fairest woman, Though 'tis a shire renown'd for handsome ladies. |
3. a. spec. In Old English times, an administrative district, consisting of a number of smaller districts (‘hundreds’ or ‘wapentakes’), united for purposes of local government, and ruled jointly by an ealdorman and a sheriff, who presided in the
shire-moot. Under Norman rule, the division of England into shires was continued, the
AF. counté, Anglo-Latin
comitatus, being adopted as the equivalent of the English term. At the present day
shire is rare in official use, but is current as a literary synonym for
county (chiefly restricted to those counties that have names ending in
-shire). The counties of Wales, and most of those of Scotland, have
-shire as the ending of their name, but the word is now rarely employed in speaking of them. The counties of Ireland were often called shires in the 16–17th c., but the use is now obsolete.
| England. ? a 1000 Laws æthelstan, Lond. x. (Liebermann) 181 Ðæt ælc ᵹerefa name þæt wedd on his aᵹenre scire. c 1290 St. Kenelm 23 in S. Eng. Leg. 346 Þe schire of gloucestre. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 62 Viue & þritti ssiren hii made in engelonde. c 1386 Chaucer Friar's T. 103 If that thee happe to comen in oure shire Al shal be thyn right as thou wolt desire. 1414 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 57/1 In the shyre of Cambrigge. 1430 Cov. Leet-bk. 129, xls. to the collectours of the shire in money and in Costes. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 8 Thei gadred alle the comons of the schyre. 1549 Cheke Hurt Sedit. (1641) 32 How many suffer injurie, when one hundred of a Shiere is spoiled? 1598 Stow Surv. Lond. 305 Then harde by the Barre is one other lane called Shyre lane, because it deuideth the Citie from the Shire. 1599 Dekker Shoemakers Holiday i. (1610) B 1 b, Those companies Mustred in London, and the shires about. 1764 Oxf. Sausage 41 The next we heard that in a neighb'ring Shire, That Day to Church he lead a blushing Bride. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 189 The cry of agricultural distress rose from every shire in the kingdom. 1855 Hawthorne Eng. Note-bks. (1870) I. 279 Lancaster..with taller houses than in the middle shires of England. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxvii, As through the wild green hills of Wyre The train ran, changing sky and shire. |
| Scotland. 1529 Stirling Burgh Rec. (1887) I. 37 Na flescher within burgh, na within the schier, that bringis ony flecht to the said burgh to sell [etc.]. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xiii. 99 Ȝe wer ay callit for ȝour tyrannie Strypis of the Schyre. a 1670 Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Bannatyne Club) II. 247 The schires of Kincardin, Elgyne and Forres. |
| Ireland. c 1535 Finglas Breviat in W. Harris Hibernica (1757) 46 The Gentles of the Shires of Myeth and Dublyn. 1542 Ir. Act 34 Hen. VIII, c. 1 (1621) 238 Forasmuch as the Shire of Methe is great and large in circuit... The said Sherife of the said Shire for the time being. 1600 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 458 The counties and shyers of the province. 1612 Sir J. Davies Why Ireland, etc. 256 Next, in reducing the vnreformed partes of Vlster into seauen shires; namely Ardmagh, Monahan, Tirone, Coleraine, Deuegall [sic], Fermannagh and Cauan. 1626 [Sir E. Cecil] Perrot's Govt. Irel. 41 The Counties thus made in Vlster, were these, Ardmagh, Monahan, Tyrone [etc.]... These circuites thus deuided and setled into Shieres, the Deputy..appointed..Iustices of the Peace. |
b. Put for: The inhabitants of the shire.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1010, Ne furðon nan scir nolde oðre ᵹelæstan æt nyxtan. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xi, You have more brains than half the shire. |
† c. A shire-court. (
Cf. shire-mote.)
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 308 Hit nis nout ine Godes kurt ase hit is iðe schire. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11068 Ac sir willam ssire huld in a monenday. c 1400 Gamelyn 715 Gamelyn came redy to þe next shire. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 169 He made þys relese & quite clayme in þe shyre of wynchestur. 1461 Paston Lett. II. 37, I wold a new dede and letter of atorne were mad owth,..and that the ded bere date nowh, and that it be selid at the next shire. 1502 Arnolde Chron. P iij, [tr. Gt. Charter] No shire from hensforth shalbe holden in oure reame but from moneth to moneth. |
† d. to be quit from shire and hundred: to be exempted from taxation levied by the shire and hundred.
Obs.| 1293 Rolls of Parlt. I. 115/1 Sint liberi et quieti ab omni Scotto, Geldo et de..Tallag', Lestagiis, Stallagiis, Schiris, Hundr' Warda, Wardepeny, Hauerpeny, Hundredespeny. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 670 And [that their] fre tenauntis ought ther to be quyet fro shire and hundred. |
† e. Proverb. (See
hundred 5 c.)
Obs. f. A rural administrative district in some states of Australia. Freq.
attrib.| 1909 Brierley & Irish Crown Lands Acts New South Wales (ed. 2) (Advt.), Ordinances for Municipalities or Shires. 1947 K. Tennant Lost Haven iii. 58 A man with any push would form a progress association and devil the shire council about the roads. 1977 Bulletin (Sydney) 22 Jan. 46/2 The town also has a shire community centre. |
† 4. A city or town with its liberties to which has been granted a jurisdiction independent of that of the historical shire in which it is situated.
Obs. Since the 16th c. the term has been superseded by
county1 2 b.
Cf. corporate county,
corporate ppl. a. B. 4.
| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 425/2 In every Citee or Burgh in this your seide Roialme..beyng a Shire incorporate. 1485 in Cov. Leet Bk. 524 Henry by the grace of God Kyng of Englond and of Fraunce and lord of Irland to oure trusty and wel-beloued the Maire and Justices of our peas within the shire of oure Citie of Couentre..greting. |
5. As the terminal element in names of counties (as Berkshire, Derbyshire) and of certain other districts (as Hallamshire, Bedlingtonshire, Islandshire, Norhamshire, Hexhamshire) which have from early times been regarded as separate unities. Pronounced (
-ʃə(r)); in dialects often (
-ʃɪə(r)).
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1064, Mid Snotingham scire & Deorbi scire & Lincolna scire. c 1155 Newminster Cartul. (Surtees) 45 Bellingtonesir. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 77 Bette þe Budul of Bokynghames schire. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 637 To here & to ende diuerse transgressions harmis greuis & excessis in wilton sher. 1463–4 Rolls of Parlt. V. 503/1 The growyng of the Shires called Alderton Shire, and Richemond Shire, oonly except. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 261 The whole shire is expressly named Hanscyre. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 2 ¶1 The first of our Society is a Gentleman of Worcestershire. 1893–4 Northumberld. Gloss. s.v., Norhamshire, Islandshire, and Bedlingtonshire, are detached portions of the patrimony of Saint Cuthbert. |
6. the Shires.
a. A term applied to other parts of England by the inhabitants of East Anglia, Kent, Sussex, Essex, and Surrey; also
gen. applied to those counties the names of which end in
-shire. Also
= shire counties (see sense 8 b below).
Usually pronounced (
ʃɪəz), being a re-stressed form of the unstressed ending (
-ʃɪə(r)).
| 1796 Pegge Anonym. (1809) 160 The Inhabitants of Kent, to express a person's coming from a great distance..will say, he comes a great way off, out of the shires. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Sheres, pl., a general name for all the counties in England, but Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. 1865 W. White East. Eng. II. 204 Which do ye like best, master. Essex or the sheres? 1909 A. Morrison Green Ginger 154 ‘It do seem to me’, he said, ‘as you'd do better in the shires; I count you make a poor trade in Essex’. 1977 Daily Tel. 14 Mar. 2/7 In the shires Labour are defending a rump of seven non-Metropolitan counties they still hold out of 39: Cleveland, Derbyshire, Durham, [etc.]. |
b. Fox-hunting. As the name of a hunting ‘country’: see
quot. 1910.
| 1860 G. J. Whyte-Melville Mkt. Harb. v. 51 ‘Excuse me, sir: take the liberty of asking whereabouts you generally hunt’. ‘Hunt?’ repeated the customer. ‘Oh! Leicestershire—Northamptonshire—all about there’... A cloud gathered on the foreman's brow. ‘The Shires!’ he rejoined, with a perplexed air; ‘that increases our difficulties very much indeed’. 1887 Field 12 Nov. 731/2 The fleetest pack [of hounds] in all the Shires. 1910 A. E. T. Watson in Encycl. Brit. XIII. 948/2 The ‘Shires’ is a recognized term, but is nevertheless somewhat vague. The three counties included in the expression are Leicestershire, Rutlandshire and Northamptonshire. Several packs which hunt within these limits are not supposed, however, to belong to the ‘Shires’, whereas a district of the Belvoir country is in Lincolnshire, and to hunt with the Belvoir is certainly understood to be hunting in the ‘Shires’. |
7. Short for
Shire horse.
| 1877 W. Gilbey in Field 24 Feb. 225/1 A discussion arose as to the best agricultural stallion to select for use in the district—a ‘Clydesdale’ or a ‘Shire’. 1901 Q. Rev. Jan. 7 The Shire, as a distinct breed was not in existence. |
8. a. attrib. and
Comb. as
shire-administration,
shire-system; (sense 6)
shire-bred,
shire-fattened adjs.; (sense 7)
shire-breed,
shire-class.
| 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. vi. 160 A uniform *shire-administration. |
| 1881 Daily News 24 Feb. 3/1 In the hope of stimulating the production of *shire-bred horses. |
| 1877 Field 17 Mar. 323/2 Good English mares of the ‘*shire’ breed. |
| 1886 P. Robinson Teetotum Trees 18 Our own *shire-fattened kine. |
| 1874 Stubbs Const. Hist. I. v. 117 The general institution of a *shire-system for all England. |
b. Special comb.:
shire-bishop (
OE. and
Hist.), the bishop of a shire;
shire-borough (see sense 4);
† shire-clerk (see
quot. 1706);
shire county, a non-metropolitan county of the
U.K., as instituted by the local government reorganization of 1974;
† shire-court = county-court 1;
† shire-day, the day upon which a meeting of the shire was appointed to be held;
shire-hall,
† -house = county-hall,
county 8 b;
shire-jury Hist., the members of a shire-court;
† shire-knight,
= knight of the shire,
knight n. 4 c;
shire-member, a representative of a shire in Parliament;
shire-oak, an oak tree marking the boundary of a shire or a meeting place for a shire-court;
shire-reeve, etymologizing form of
sheriff;
shire-stone, a stone serving as a boundary-mark of a shire (also in
three-shire-stone,
four-shire-stone);
shire-town, (
a) the chief town of a shire, a
county-town, see
county1 8 b; also
transf.; (
b)
U.S. = county seat s.v. county1 8 b;
† shire-wyte, ? a tax paid to a Sheriff for holding a shire-court. Also
shire-ground,
Shire horse,
shire-land,
shireman,
shire-moot,
shirewick.
| a 1023 Wulfstan xxxvi. (1883) 173 Bete þæt, swa se *scir⁓bisceop and eal scirwitan..deman. 1880 W. H. Jones Dioc. Hist. Salisb. 51 We must therefore suppose that occasionally shire-bishops may have been appointed. |
| 1898 F. W. Maitland Township & Borough 10 One ancient *shire-borough, I mean Nottingham. |
| 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 15 §1 Shirefs Undershirefs *Shire Clerkis or any other officers. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Shire-Clerk, an Under-Sheriff; sometimes it is taken for a Clerk in the County-Court, or Deputy to the Under-Sheriff. |
| 1972 Times 21 Sept. 4/2 The AMC received no guidance whether metropolitan county councils would want to be grouped with ‘*shire’ counties or with district councils. 1977 Daily Tel. 25 Apr. 6/8 Britain's great conurbations and the shire counties are preparing for a..tussle. |
| 1376 Rolls of Parlt. II. 348/2 Une novele Court appelle *Shire-court a Arundell. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 24 The Shyre Courte for that Shyre shalbe holden & kepte one tyme at Chichestre aforseid, and the next tyme at the borowe of Lewes. 1542–3 Act 34 & 35 Hen. VIII, c. 26 §58 The Countie or Shyre Courte of the Countie of Radnor. |
| 1482 Caxton Policron. viii. xxi. in Higden (Rolls) VIII. 565 Also at Bedford on a *shyreday were eyghten men murthred withoute stroke by fallynge doune of a steyr. |
| 1796 E. Inchbald Nature & Art xl. (1820) 135 The prisoners are demanded at the *shire-hall. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 30 Shire Hall Keeper. |
| 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. II. 53 The Guild-hall, the Wool⁓hall, and the *Shire-house. |
| 1822 Edin. Rev. XXXVI. 330 The *Shire-jury was considered as constituting the ‘County’ or County Court. |
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iv. 32 And whanne it drowe to þe day of þe dede-doynge, Þat souereynes were semblid and þe *schire-knyȝtis,..þey begynne to declare Þe cause of her comynge. |
| 1910 W. L. Mathieson Awak. Scot. i. 8 *Shire members and burgh members had united to form a House of Commons. |
| 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Worksop, Certain oaks, called *Shire-Oaks. 1879 Green Readings Eng. Hist. xxiii. 115 During the last half-hour the suiters had been gathering round the shire-oak. |
| 14.. Langland's P. Pl. C. iv. 78 Boþe *shire-reues and sergauntes. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent 350 Our Magistrat nowe called a Sherif, or (to speake more truely, Shyrereue). 1765 Blackstone Comm. Introd. §4 I. 112 The sheriff, shrieve, or shire-reeve. 1863 H. Cox Instit. iii. ix. 726 These reeves received in counties the appellation of shire-reeves. |
| 1536 in Laing Charters (1899) 108 Fra the said croce lineallie east..to the *schearstane; fra the scheirsteane lineallie eist [etc.]. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. Map, Four shire stone..three shire stones. 1778 Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Morton in the Marsh, About one mile from hence, are the 4 shire-stones. 1825 Gentl. Mag. June 516 Upon Wreynose Hill are placed the Shire-stones. |
| 1459 Rolls of Parlt. V. 368/1 Make open Proclamation in the *Shire Toune of the same Shire or Shires. 1526 Tindale Luke ii. 3 Every man went in to his awne shyre toune, there to be taxed. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 396 Then Ouse saluteth Buckingham the Shire Towne. 1648 New Hampshire Provincial & State Papers (1867) I. 189 The Court doth think fitt that the *shire town of Norfolke be referred to further consideration. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. i. iii. 10 The Shire-Town is Derby. 1717 S. Sewall Diary 13 Jan. (1882) III. 132 Cambridge is the Shire-Town for Middlesex. 1857 Perley Hand-bk. N. Brunswick 55 The shire town is Richibucto. 1881 Century Mag. Dec. 251/1 It was the central town in the county, and yet not the shire-town. 1969 Bangor (Maine) Daily News 10 July 1/5 (caption) This particular sign in Whiting..has omitted an ‘a’ from the shiretown of Washington County. |
| 1425 in Kennett Par. Antiq. (1695) 573 Et in solutis pro quadam pensione vocata *Schire⁓wyte annuatim iv. sol. |
▪ II. shire, a. Obs. exc. dial. (
ʃaɪə(r))
Forms: 1
sc{iacu}r, 3
scir,
sir, 3–4
shir, 3–5
schir, 4
scire,
scirre,
schirre, (
schyire), 4–5
schyr, 4–6
schire,
schyre, 4–8
shyre, 4–9
shire.
[Com. Teut.: OE. sc{iacu}r = OFris. skîre, OS. skîr, skîri (MLG. schîre; hence MHG. schîre, schîr, mod.G. schier), ON. sk{iacu}r-r clear, bright, pure (Sw. skir), sk{yacu}rir manifest, Goth. skeir-s clear:—OTeut. *skīro-, *skīrjo-, f. root *skī̆- to shine: see shine v. (Related by ablaut to sheer a. See also skire, skere adjs.)] A. adj. † 1. Bright, shining.
Obs. In
OE. also
fig. illustrious, noble. In
ME. allit. verse sometimes a vague epithet of praise (
= beautiful, fine, ‘sheen’).
| Beowulf 979 Ðær abidan sceal maᵹa mane fah miclan domes, hu him scir metod scrifan wille. a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xxx. 9 Þeah hio [the sun] sie scir & beorht. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3848 Longe abuten munt seyr folȝede hem ðat skie scir. a 1300 Havelok 588 She saw þer-inne a lith ful shir. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 317 Þe blod schot for scham in-to his shyre face & lere. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2454 Schalkis scott in-to shipis all in shire mailes. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2373 In a shadow of shene tres & of shyre floures. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 537 To se that his schire weid be sicker of assay. |
† 2. Of liquids, crystal, etc.: Clear, translucent.
| a 900 Cynewulf Christ 1282 Swa þæt scire glæs þæt mon yþæst mæᵹ eall þurh-wlitan. c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 163/33 Limpidus, scir. a 1300 Cursor M. 9936 Midward þe heist ture..springes of scire water o welle. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6934 Als fyssches lyfes in water schyre. a 1400 Stockh. Med. MS. i. 119 in Anglia XVIII. 298 Hony, good & schyre. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 447/1 Schyre, as water and oþer lycure, perspicuus, clarus. a 1450 Ratis Raving i. 1492 Scho berys with hire lycor schyr That slokins syne as vatter fyre. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. viii. 48 The sesonable air pipis vp fair and schire. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. Gloss. s.v., We call..clear liquor shire. |
† 3. Pure, unmixed.
Obs.| Beowulf 496 Þeᵹn..se þe on handa bær hroden ealowæᵹe, scencte scir wered. c 888 ælfred Boeth. xv, Nalles scir win hi ne druncan. c 1200 Ormin 15383 Forr siþþen iss all þeȝȝre spell Shir atter & shir galle Till alle þa þatt herrcnenn itt. a 1340 Hampole Cant. Psalter 516 Þat þa drynke þe shyrest blode of grape [sanguinem uvae meracissimum]. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 113 He shapis him of shire wax litill schipis many. |
† 4. Morally or spiritually clean; pure.
Obs.| a 1225 Ancr. R. 1 Þeos riwle is cherite of schir heorte & cleane inwit. Ibid. 246 O muchel is..þe mihte of schir & of clene bone. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 518 Metodius, ali martyr, Adde in his herte sigh[ð]e sir. a 1300 Cursor M. 26200 Scrift sal mak þi saul scirre. a 1400 Rel. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 56 When Goddis seruandes hase depely thoghte with schire herte on Gode. |
5. Complete, perfect, utter;
= sheer a. 8. Also (with a negative), mere, bare.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1286 Nere hit schendlac inoh, & schir scheome, to alle þæt ȝelpeð of lare? c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3580 He..dede ðat claf melten in fir, And stired it al to dust sir. 1513 Douglas æneis viii. Prol. 78 This cuntre is full of Caynis kyne, And sic schyr schrewis. c 1520 Skelton E. Rummyng 466 They be wretchockes thou hast brought, They are shyre shakyng nought! 1540 Palsgr. Acolastus ii. iii. L j, I wyll not gyue the sole .i. pure or shyre hope, but the thing. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 69 As if the outside of the earth were a shire flat or level. 1710 Ruddiman Gloss. Douglas' æneis s.v. Schire, Scot. we say, a skire fool, a shire knave, i.e. purus putus nebulo. c 1730 Ramsay Grub Street nae Satire 5 He's naething but a shire daft lick. 1836 M. Mackintosh Cottager's Daughter 59 He was a shire and worthless smaik. |
b. (See
quot.)
| 1825 Jamieson Suppl., Shire, Shyre, adj. Used in the sense of strait, or S. scrimp; as, shire measure, that sort of measurement which allows not a hair-breadth beyond what mere justice demands, Teviotdale. |
6. Thin; tenuous, not dense; sparse, scanty. Of beer: Weak, ‘small’.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xix. cxxxi. (1495) 940 The more sadde a body is the more heuy it is; and the more shyre and thynne the more lyght it is founde. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxii. 101 Þe men of þat land has schyre [Cotton text (1839) 207 thynne] berdes with few hares in þam. 1513 Douglas æneis iv. v. 188 He vanist far away..in the schyre air [in tenuem..auram]. 1530 Palsgr. 323/2 Shyre nat thycke, delie. 1547 Salesbury Dict. Eng. & Welsh, Teneu, Thynne, shyre. 1599 A. Hume Hymnes iv. 14 My haires are schyre and gray. 1721 Ramsay To Earl Dalhousie 34 He had rather live on cakes, And shyrest swats. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs (ed. 2) II. Gloss. s.v., We call thin cloth..shire. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word-bk., Shire, thin; scanty: said of crops. |
▪ III. † shire, v.1 Obs. Forms: 1
sc{iacu}ran,
sc{yacu}ran, 3
sciren,
schire,
shire,
sire.
[OE. sc{iacu}ran = MLG., mod.LG. schiren to make clear, clarify (whence G. dial. schieren), ON. sk{iacu}ra to purify, clear (from a charge), Goth. gaskeirjan to interpret, f. OTeut. *skīro-: see shire a.] 1. trans. To declare, make known; to tell, utter.
| Beowulf 1939 Þæt hit sceadenmæl scyran moste, cwealmbealu cyðan. c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxviii. 198 Ac ᵹif hie ðonne eallunga forberan ne mæᵹen..ðæt hie hit ne sciren. c 1205 Lay. 16822 Nes þer nan swa hæh mon þat durste word sciren. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2036 Ðe wite is hise, ðe right is hire, God al-miȝtin ðe soðe shire. [a 1250 Owl & Night. 1532 Wan he comeþ ham eft to his wiue, ne dar heo noȝt a word i-schire.] |
2. To enlighten, purify (the mind or heart).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 384 Luue, þet schireð & brihteð þe heorte. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 327 For is fruit sired mannes mood, To witen boðen iwel and good. |
▪ IV. shire, v.2 (
ʃaɪər)
[f. shire n.] trans. To divide (a country) into shires.
| 1810 W. Davies Agric. N. Wales i. 2 It [North Wales] was shired by Henry the Eighth into six counties. 1867 Cal. St. Papers, Irel. 1574–85, 170 The Brenny and Annaly shired. 1885 R. Bagwell Irel. under Tudors I. 60 Ulster and Connaught were not shired. 1904 Edin. Rev. July 215 When..he [Davies] effected the final shiring of Ulster. |
▪ V. † shire, adv. Obs. [OE. sc{iacu}re, f. shire a.] 1. Brightly; clearly.
| a 1000 Andreas 835 Oð þæt dryhten forlet dæᵹcandelle scire scinan. a 1300 Havelok 916 [Ich kan] kindlen ful wel a fyr, And maken it to brennan shir. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 956 Hir brest & hir bryȝt þrote bare displayed, Schon schyrer þen snawe. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 610 The sone in the sky wes schynyng so schir. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. v. 14 Quhen the taknyng or the bail of fire Rais fro the kingis schip, wpbirnyng schire. |
2. With main force, mightily; sheer or straight
down.
| a 900 Cynewulf Christ 1141 Scire burstan muras and stanas. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3045 O morȝen, al swilc time al sir, Thunder, and hail, and leuenes fir, Cam wel vnghere. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 506 Schyre schedez þe rayn in schowrez ful warme. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 22 Kemmit was thair cleir hair, and curiouslie sched Attour thair schulderis doun schyre, schyning full bricht. |
▪ VI. shire obs. form of
sire n.