▪ I. shock, n.1
(ʃɒk)
Forms: α. (4 ? schoke), 4–5 schock, shokk, 5 s(c)hokke, 6 schocke, shoke, 6–7 shocke, 4– shock. β. 8–9 dial. shuck, 9 shook.
[Corresponds to OS. scok neut., some definite number of sheaves, MLG., LG. schok shock of corn, group of 60 units (see next), NFris. skukke, skok shock of corn, MDu. schok shock of corn, sixty (Mod.Du. only the latter), MHG. schoc, schoch heap, crowd, multitude, also sixty (mod.G. schock sixty), MSw. skokk crowd, flock (so Sw. skock, also sixty), Norw. skok flock, Da. dial. skok six sheaves.]
1. A group of sheaves of grain placed upright and supporting each other in order to permit the drying and ripening of the grain before carrying. Phrase, in shock.
| α c 1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 154 Les javeles en garbes lieet, En tresseus [glossed in schekes; ? read schokes] les garbes mettet. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. Prol. 105 And al-though these noble repers,..han al drawe and bounde up in the sheves, and mad many shockes, yet [etc.]. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 447/2 Schokke, of corne, congelima. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxi. 74 A shokke of whete or other corne. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 130 Corne tithed (sir Parson) to gather go get and cause it on shocks to be by and by set. 1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribæ 170 The lightest sheafe in all the shocke,..good enough for God. 1651 tr. Kitchin's Jurisdict. (1653) 87 The Lord cannot distrain shocks of Corn. 1670 J. Wightwick in O. Sansom's Acc. Life (1710) 79 We having reaped two Acres of Wheat, and set it up in Shock, Lodowick came and threw it all down. 1746 Brit. Mag. 109 He found Three hundred Shock of Corn in the Fields. 1798 Monthly Mag. Mar. 192/2 They bind it [wheat] up in small sheaves, and place them in what they call shocks, ten together, five on each side. 1829 Glover's Hist. Derby I. 182 Whole fields of corn, both standing and in shock. 1891 Morris Poems by Way (1896) 192 So 'tis wellaway for Goldilocks, As he left the land of the wheaten shocks. |
| β 1775 Johnson West. Isl., Lough Ness 68 A small spot of ground on which stood four shucks, containing each twelve sheaves of barley. 1784 W. H. Marshall Midl. Counties (1790) II. 15 In this country, ‘sheaf corn’ is universally ‘hooded’—covered with two sheaves inverted,—as it is set up in ‘shuck’. 1823 A. Small Rom. Antiq. Fife 135 Any piece of ground..in which the stooks or shooks of corn stood thick after being reaped. 1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens xv. 146 As I pitched on the two shooves to make up the shuck—that be twenty shooves. |
2. transf. A crowd (of persons); a heap, bunch, bundle (of things).
| c 1430 Lydg. Paternoster 306 Lyk as a glenere on a large lond Among shokkys plentyvous of auctours. 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. vii. (1593) 154 Folke by heaps did flocke To Marsis sacred field, and there stood thronging in a shocke. 1806 Beresford Mis. Hum. Life (1826) xii, We have both been equally busy..in gleaning up such..tortures..as we had left behind at our general harvest. For my own share, I have cocked up a tolerable shock of 'em. |
3. Comb. (See
quots.)
| 1865 Trans. Illinois Agric. Soc. V. 27 So long as the present system of..placing shock-corn on the ground..shall prevail. 1925 R. R. Snapp Beef Cattle xv. 179 Before the silo became common, corn fodder or shock corn was used extensively for wintering cattle. |
| 1845 W. Sewall Diary 10 Dec. (1930) 280/2 Shucked out a little shock fodder. 1949 H. Hornsby Lonesome Valley i. 12 Chester was up in the cornfield, getting a sledload of shock fodder. |
| 1856 Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 725/3 Shock-fork (Suff.) a large three-tined fork, used in gathering barley and clover into heaps for the pitchers. |
| 1759 Brown Compl. Farmer 47 Those pigs that are reared on stubble, are call'd shock pigs. |
▪ II. shock, n.2 Comm. Now only
Hist. (
ʃɒk)
Forms: 4
schok, (
scok) 4–6
shok, 7
shocke, 6–
shock.
[a. G. (LG., HG.) schock, Du. schok; prob. a special use of schock = shock n.1] 1. A lot of sixty pieces. (Used with reference to certain articles of merchandise originally imported from abroad.)
| [1391 Earl Derby's Exped. (Camden) 72 Et per manus eiusdem pro ij schok bykeres per ipsum emptis ibidem, xx scot.] 1583 Rates of Custome ho. F j, Trayes the shock [1545 flocke] contayning lx. x, s. 1660 Act 12 Chas. II, c. 4 Sched. Rates, s.v. Boxes, Sope boxes the Shocke containing three-score boxes. 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 65 Many small Wares called Habberdashery..are sold by Dozens, Scores, Shocks. 1724 Act 11 Geo. I, c. 7 Addit. Bk. Rates, Platters of Wood, the Shock, containing sixty. |
‖ b. A German money of account
= 60 groschen.
| 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 288 In Bohemia..Merchants reckoned two hallers for a pfenning, and six pfenning for a grosh, and sixty grosh for a shocke. |
† 2. A roll of cloth containing twenty-eight ells.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1612 Sc. Bk. Customs in Halyburton's Ledger (1867) 318 Poldaveis the shok contening xxviii elnis. |
▪ III. shock, n.3 (
ʃɒk)
Forms: α. 6–7
shocke (6
shocque), 7
shok, 7–8
shoke; β. 6
chok,
choke, 7
choc,
chock,
chocke, 7–8
choque.
[app. a. F. choc, noun of action f. choquer: see shock v.2 First adopted as a military term; the wider use is partly due to development in
Eng., and partly to the readoption of the
Fr. word in specific applications.
The β forms present difficulties. The
choc,
choque of the late 17th and early 18th c. were obviously viewed by the writers as adoptions from French; but in some of the earlier instances there are three possibilities: (1) the word may have been adopted orally with (
ʃ), but spelt
ch after the
Fr.; (2) the word may have been originally a graphic adoption, and the
ch have been pronounced in
Eng. fashion as (
tʃ); (3) the
Fr. word may have been confused with an etymologically unrelated word
chock.
The following examples, where
chocke has the sense ‘light blow’, ‘chuck (under the chin)’ probably represent a different word (
cf. similar examples under
shock v.
2):
1607 Markham
Caval. ii. v, 82
Giue him the euen stroke with both your spurres, & a good chocke in the mouth with your brydle hand. 1611 [see
chuck n.3 1].]
1. a. Mil. The encounter of an armed force with the enemy in a charge or onset; also, the encounter of two mounted warriors or jousters charging one another.
| α 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Coitio militum, the shocke. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iii. 106 The saide Englishe Men abode the first Shocque or charge. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 93 This doubtfull shocke of Armes. 1621 in Kempe Losely MSS. (1836) 462 Ye best men for y⊇ shock of y⊇ warr. 1634 Peacham Compl. Gentl. xix. (ed. 2) 242 But the Pikes when they are to give or receive a shocke, are to be commanded [etc.]. 1758 Ann. Reg. 52 The Prussian infantry, which had often stood, and often given, so many terrible shocks. 1814 Southey Roderick xxv. 166 Anon the hosts met in the shock of battle. 1881 Bell tr. C. von Schmidt's Instr. Training Cavalry 129 We thus obtain the moral effect of surprise, in addition to the physcial effect of the shock and sabre, &c. 1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ White Rose Arno 210 To retreat without coming to the shock. |
| β 1584 Hudson Du Bartas' Judith v. (1608) 78 Scarsly they could keep them in their bound, Till pype, or Cymball, or the trumpets sound, Denounce the choke. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 17 Syne Phifers, Drummes, and Trumpets cleir do craue The pelmell chok. |
b. transf. and
fig.| α 1638–56 Cowley Davideis iii. Poems (1905) 341 Long had the patient Adriel humbly born The roughest Shocks of her imperious Scorn. 1683 D. A. Art of Converse 87 It happens..that we either understand not, or mistake what is said in opposition to what we advance..; we think only on't when the shoke is past, that we could have easily return'd this or that answer. 1879 B. Taylor Germ. Lit. 285 The shock and encounter of thought. |
| β 1665–6 Pepys Diary 14 Feb., Sir G. Carteret had prepared himself to answer a choque of Sir W. Coventry, by offering of himself to shew all he had paid, and what is unpaid [etc.]. |
2. a. A sudden and violent blow, impact, or collision, tending to overthrow or to produce internal oscillation in a body subjected to it; the disturbance of equilibrium or the internal oscillation resulting from this. Also, a sudden large application of energy other than mechanical energy,
esp. thermal energy (
cf. thermal shock); a shock wave.
| 1614 Gorges Lucan vi. 219 The rams, the engines, and the slings,..Whose often shockes did make such wrack, That tower and rampart gins to crack. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxiii. 81 He..running her on the starboard side gave her so terrible a shock that they sank both together. 1741 A. Monro Anat. (ed. 3) 302 To prevent too great a Shoke of the Fabrick of the Body in walking. 1813 Scott Trierm. iii. xxxix, Fierce and frequent were the shocks. 1842 Tennyson Godiva 74 With twelve great shocks of sound, the shameless noon Was clash'd and hammer'd from a hundred towers. 1865 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. ii. 66 Millions of shocks are received every second from the calorific waves. 1889 E. Arnold Seas & Lands ii. (1895) 17 The colossal block [of consolidated snow] capsizes with a second shock, startling the ocean for leagues around. 1904, 1907 [see shock wave a]. 1932 Trans. Amer. Soc. Mech. Engineers LIV. 310/2 The actual deflection can be estimated..from the location of the strong compression shock waves which follow the shock between the convergent streams. 1950 D. Q. Kern Process Heat Transfer xx. 733 While scale may be loosened by thermal shock, the shock does not necessarily cause it to drop off the tubes. 1955 K. F. Herzfeld in F. D. Rossini Thermodynamics & Physics of Matter h. ii. 686 In this method a shock travels down a shock tube. Behind it, the gas is adiabatically..compressed and is at higher temperature. The shock itself is only a few mean free paths thick. 1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. XIII. 552/1 Such shock arises when a body at one uniform temperature is suddenly accelerated to or decelerated from high supersonic or hypersonic speeds. 1974 Acustica XXX. 260 A reproducible acoustic shock pulse is generated in an aluminium bar by means of a transducer of the electro-magnetic induction type. |
| β 1603 Florio Montaigne i. xix. 32 Hast thou not seene..one of his ancestors die miserably by the chocke of an hog [orig. chocqué par un pourceau]. 1684 Waller Ess. Nat. Exper. 59 As soon as ever the Bubbles rise above the Vinegar, and by the chock of the Air break, their Covering is curiously scattered about. 1726 Swift Gulliver iii. iii, A sudden fall might endanger the bottom or under surface of the island, which..might happen to crack by too great a choque. |
b. spec. (
= earthquake shock). A sudden and more or less violent shake of a part of the earth's surface; a single movement of the series of movements constituting an earthquake.
| 1692 T. Robinson in Ray Disc. ii. v. (1693) 211 Some Machines were..retarded by the Choc [of the Earthquake]. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. 95 After I..found still no more Shocks of the Earthquake follow, I began to be more compos'd. 1767 Ann. Reg. 67 They had felt thirty-six shocks of the earth. 1869 Phillips Vesuv. ix. 253 Vibrations in the land—suddenly excited and rapidly passing on, so as to be described as ‘shocks’. |
3. transf. and
fig. a. A sudden and violent effect tending to impair the stability or permanence of something; a damaging blow (to a condition of things, a person's health or constitution, an institution, a belief, etc.).
| 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 92 Griefe did not seize upon her reason..and it is fit then that joy should not now give a chock to mine. 1736 Butler Anal. i. i. 21 The great shock and alteration, which we shall undergo by death. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho i, It gave a severe shock to his constitution. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley i. viii. 152 The shock given to commercial credit. 1885 Temple Relig. & Sci. iv. 109 In spite of these shocks belief in revelation is strong still in men's souls. |
† b. Opposition, clashing, conflict. (
Cf. shock v.
2 1 c.)
Obs.| 1664 Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 172 Your Majesties Sovereign Power is free from all shock and competition. |
4. a. A sudden and disturbing impression on the mind or feelings; usually, one produced by some unwelcome occurrence or perception, by pain, grief, or violent emotion (
occas. joy), and tending to occasion lasting depression or loss of composure; in weaker sense, a thrill or start of surprise, or of suddenly excited feeling of any kind. Also
ironically in apposition with
horror; so
shock-horror used
attrib.| 1705 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. iii. Pain 12 He that can't stand the Shock of Pain..can never be firm in his Duty, nor true to his Engagements. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia x. x. (1882) II. 463 When Cecilia was a little recovered from the shock of the first interview. 1812 Crabbe Tales, Arabella 28 But (though her young companions felt the shock) She studied Berkeley, Bacon, Hobbes, and Locke. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxix, So Mrs. Bute, after the first shock of rage and disappointment, began to accommodate herself as best she could to her altered fortunes. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such x. 180 Invigorating shocks of laughter. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay v, It gives me a kind of shock to think you are obliged to be on your guard in your own home. 1977 Gay News 7–20 Apr. 15/3 The message must have got through: certainly there were no shock-horror reactions and fun was had by all. 1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 31 Oct. 1240/4 The shock-horror world of the media men. 1981 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 18 Apr. 1312/2 The shock-horror TV Eye of recent weeks. |
b. Used for: An occurrence, discovery, etc. that occasions a shock.
| 1841 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) II. 18 The death of my Father was a great shock to me. 1902 R. Bagot Donna Diana xiv. 161 It had been somewhat of a shock to the Cardinal when Monsignor Tomei had frankly informed him that [etc.]. |
c. A feeling of being shocked (see
shock v.
2 4); a pained sense of something offensive to morality or decorum.
| 1876 Trevelyan Macaulay I. iv. 159 He was still quite young when the concession of Catholic Emancipation gave a moral shock to the Tory party. 1874 H. R. Reynolds John Bapt. v. §2. 321 It occasioned no moral shock for Him to believe in the gospel of the kingdom. |
d. (
a)
culture (or cultural) shock: a state of distress or disorientation brought about by sudden subjection to an unfamiliar culture; (
b)
future shock: an analogous state brought about by too rapid a pace of social or technological change.
| (a) 1940 J. B. Holt in Amer. Sociol. Rev. Oct. 744 All these citations suggest the ‘culture shock’ arising from the precipitation of a rural person or group into an urban situation. 1952 Human Organization Spring 16 (heading) The Papuan Ovokaiva vs Mt. Lamington: Cultural shock and its aftermath. 1960 [see culture shock s.v. culture n. 5 d]. 1970 A. Toffler Future Shock i. 12 Culture shock is the effect that, immersion in a strange culture has on the unprepared visitor... Culture shock is what happens when a traveler suddenly finds himself in a place where yes may mean no, where a ‘fixed price’ is negotiable, where to be kept waiting in an outer office is no cause for insult, where laughter may signify anger. 1978 Lancashire Life July 43/3 To see a defender in a protective helmet playing at cover point can cause culture shock in newcomers to the game. |
| (b) 1965 A. Toffler in Horizon Summer 109/1 Culture shock is relatively mild in comparison with a much more serious malady that might be called ‘future shock’. Future shock is the dizzying disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future. It may well be the most important disease of tomorrow. 1972 Newsweek 17 July 34 Fortunately, Japan's innate self discipline and sense of harmony have cushioned much of the ‘future shock’..and so far Japan is relatively free of the..disorders so prevalent in other industrialized societies. 1975 Whig-Standard (Kingston, Ontario) 7 Jan. 6/3 Canada's foreign policy is in poor health these days—suffering from a severe case of future shock complicated by a crippling inferiority complex. |
5. Med. a. A sudden debilitating effect produced by over-stimulation of nerves, intense pain, violent emotion, or the like; the condition of nervous exhaustion resulting from this. Now used more precisely for a condition whose principal characteristic is low blood volume (see
quot. 1968); also
ellipt. for
shell shock s.v. shell n. 40.
in shock, in a state of shock; incapacitated by very low blood pressure and associated symptoms, or debilitated by ill-treatment or bad news; so
into shock,
out of shock.
| 1804 Abernethy Surg. Observ. 218 The shock of the operation. 1867 E. Morris (title) A practical Treatise on Shock after Surgical Operations and Injuries. 1889 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Sci. XCVII. 282 For the purpose of stimulating a patient in shock it is more rational to give ether than to give alcohol. 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 430 The condition known as ‘shock’, which is apt to supervene, to a greater or less degree, on serious injuries and on surgical operations. 1912 Standard 20 Sept. 8/4 She suffered severely from inflammation of the eyes and nervous shock. 1917 W. Owen Let. 23 May (1967) 463 Sorrel was mentioned for Shock [in the Casualty List]. 1928 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 9 June 1859/2 The blood pressure..suddenly fell to 52 systolic and 44 diastolic as he went into shock. 1958 J. Cannan And be Villain vi. 137 Mrs Hallow was subjected to quite an ordeal this morning and is practically in shock. 1959 Woman's Own 27 June 44/2 She's in shock, of course, but we're giving her a transfusion. 1968 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. I. xxviii. 41/1 Loss of blood volume is an important but not the only cause of shock; a similar state of shock occurs in acute heart failure and in severe infections in which the responsible haemodynamic mechanisms are different. 1975 Publishers Weekly 21 July 67/2 When Joe signed his first pro contract, Rose..went into shock. 1980 M. Russell Death Fuse xvi. 149, I think she's able to talk. She's out of shock. |
b. A paralytic seizure or stroke. Chiefly
Sc. and
U.S. dial.| 1794 J. Woodforde Diary 13 Oct. (1929) iv. 143 Mr. Whitmell had a kind of Paralytic Shock this last Spring. 1896 H. Johnston Dr. Congalton's Legacy xxiv. 315 The mistress of Windy-yett had taken ‘a terrible turn—a shock or something’. 1903 K. D. Wiggin Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm xxvi. 279 We had three o' the worst shocks in our family that there ever was..and I know every symptom of 'em better 'n the doctors. 1951 E. Graham My Window looks down East xi. 96 That was when he came the nearest to the stroke. (In Maine we call them ‘shocks’.) 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xxx. 284 Haein teen a shock an' soocht awa in 'is sleep. 1981 M. Cantwell in N.Y. Times Mag. 9 Aug. 6/4 One cause of my future demise might be that I ‘took a shock.’ In other places, a person in that condition would be said to have suffered a paralytic stroke. |
c. anaphylactic shock: see
s.v. anaphylaxis.
6. A momentary stimulation of a nerve. Also, a stimulation of nerves with resulting contraction of muscles and feeling of concussion;
spec. = electric shock (see
electric a. 2 b).
| 1746 W. Watson Sequel to Experiments in Electr. 10 He receives a violent shock through both his arms. 1818 Bostock Galvanism 24 Volta..found that forty pairs of the metallic disks, with the proper number of pieces of moistened card interposed, were sufficient to produce a shock, which was very distinctly felt in the hands and arms. 1857 Hughes Tom Brown ii. iii, He..had made unto himself an electric machine from which it was his greatest pleasure and glory to administer small shocks to any small boys who were rash enough to venture into his study. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 828 The needles should not touch one another or shocks are produced, very harmful to young infants. |
7. ellipt. for
shock-absorber. Chiefly
U.S.| 1961 in Webster. 1968 Hot Car Nov. 14/2 (Advt.), These are the shocks to end all shocks. 1977 Transatlantic Rev. lx. 22 He told her that the car would also need new shocks, brakes, a muffler, a starter and an engine job. 1979 Guardian 4 June 6/7 Shock-absorber people who will swop your worn-out shocks. |
8. attrib. and
Comb., as
shock effect,
shock-value;
shock-like,
shock-resistant,
shock-resisting,
shock-seasoned adjs.; also, of things that startle or shock, as
shock headline,
shock language,
shock news,
shock story;
shock-action Mil., a method of attack by a charge of cavalry, in which the force of the impact is principally relied upon;
† shock-bottle, a humorous designation for an electric jar;
shock cone Aeronaut., a nose cone or other conical fairing which serves to streamline an aircraft for supersonic flight;
shock cord, heavy elasticated cord designed to absorb or resist mechanical shock; a length of this;
shock excitation, the excitation of natural oscillations in a system by a sudden impulse of energy from an external source; so
shock-excited ppl. a.;
shock front, the wave front of a shock wave;
shock measure, a severe or exceptional measure taken
usu. to deal with an emergency;
shock-mount n., a mounting designed to absorb or resist mechanical shock; also as
v. trans., to attach by means of such a mounting;
shock-mounted ppl. a.,
shock-mounting vbl. n.;
shock police, in Spain, a republican force of specially armed police for use in assault operations;
shock-proof a., proof against damage by mechanical shock or by a surge of electrical power; also
fig.; hence
shock-proofing vbl. n., the process of rendering shock-proof;
shock stall Aeronaut., a stalling condition undergone by an aircraft at a speed close to that of sound, involving increased air resistance and loss of lift and control; also
shock stalling vbl. n.;
shock strut Aeronaut., a strut containing a shock absorber in the landing gear of an aircraft;
shock-tactics Mil., tactics in which shock-action forms a principal part; also
transf. and
fig.; also
occas. shock-tactic;
shock test, a test in which an object is subjected to mechanical shock; hence
shock-testing vbl. n.;
shock therapy,
treatment, treatment by means of artificially induced shock, whether anaphylactic, electrical, or drug-induced;
spec. electro-convulsive therapy; also
fig.;
shock tube, an apparatus for producing shock waves by making a gas at high pressure expand suddenly into a low-pressure tube or cavity.
| 1884 M. H. Hayes Man. Tactics iv. 25 The distinguishing characteristics of cavalry are its great mobility and *shock action. |
| 1827 in Hone's Every-day Bk. II. 1077 Taking from *Shock-bottles shocks. |
| 1947 Shell Aviation News No. 112. 6/3 Republic is building a fighter aircraft with a needle-nose *shock cone to permit supersonic speed. 1961 Aeroplane CI. 548/1 The ‘shock cones’ are merely fairings over the boundary-layer bleed, which brings the intakes proud of the fuselage. |
| 1930 P. White How to fly Airplane xx. 279 (caption) Two boys at the rear are holding against the pull of the *shock cord. 1980 TWA Ambassador Oct. 32/3 Secure all gear, such as the coffee-cans, in the canoe with rope or shock cord. |
| 1959 N. & Q. CCIV. 36/2 The most intense *shock effects come from the imposition of war's horrible destruction upon familiar places usually associated with quiet and peace. 1977 A. Giddens Stud. in Social & Polit. Theory ix. 317 Suicide attempts do appear to have a ‘shock’ effect on relatives and friends. |
| 1920 E. W. Stone Elem. Radiotelegr. iii. 54 Exciting a vibratory circuit into oscillation is variously termed impulse excitation, *shock excitation, and whip-crack excitation. 1930 A. B. Wood Textbk. Sound 213 A single explosion impulse is often sufficient to set a resonator into vibration, thereby producing a musical note or a noise by shock excitation. |
| 1967 R. F. Graf Mod. Dict. Electronics 138/2 Free oscillations, commonly referred to as *shock-excited oscillations. 1975 D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xix. 17 The sound levels of shock-excited tones are more difficult to specify because they vary so much during decay and can be excited over a very wide range. |
| 1949 L. M. Milne-Thomson Theoret. Hydrodynamics (ed. 2) xx. 577 If the *shock front is sufficiently oblique to the oncoming air, the conditions behind may still be supersonic. 1969 New Scientist 28 Aug. 434/2 The boom signature appears to coalesce at a relatively short distance from the flightpath into two shockfronts. |
| 1977 M. Walker National Front iii. 60 *Shock headlines like ‘Five Million Coloured Asians now in Britain?’ (RPS News). |
| 1959 Listener 13 Aug. 253/1 One is reminded more of the *shock-language of the avant-garde Russian poets of the time. |
| 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 865 The muscular contractions differ from those which occur in ordinary chorea by being sudden and *shock-like. |
| 1962 Daily Tel. 13 Dec. 10/2 Mr. Marples's *shock measures..will be more than justified if this savage record [of death and injury on the roads] can be substantially improved. |
| 1939 Interavia 5 Dec. 10 Two sets of *shock mounts on either side of the blades are employed. |
| 1947 B. W. Pike et al. in A. Roberts Radar Beacons xvi. 361 The beacon should be either internally *shock-mounted or carried in a padded case. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 1 May 3/4 (Advt.), Precision, shock-mounted lucite level. |
| 1942 P. C. Sandretto Princ. Aeronaut. Radio Engin. i. 10 *Shock mounting in the past consisted of certain rubber shock absorbers mounted to the radio units; however, the trend is toward the use of shock-mounted shelves permanently installed in the airplane. 1964 R. F. Ficchi Electr. Interference iv. 40 Since many equipments are presently being installed on shock mountings so they will not be affected by vibration, it is important to bond adequately across shock mounts. 1973 Times 31 Oct. (Suppl.) p. viii, His company believe they can avoid fatigue failure..by overdesign of various components and by shock-mounting valves, pipes and other equipment. |
| 1974 Times 3 Apr. 1/1 (heading) *Shock news is broken to EEC ministers. |
| 1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 249 The murder, on July 12, of Lieutenant Castillo of the *Shock Police (known to have Socialist sympathies) by gangsters of the Right. 1957 P. Kemp Mine were of Trouble i. 16 Shock Police (Guardias de Asalto), posted in side streets on motor cycles. |
| 1911 T. Dreiser Jennie Gerhardt xviii. 138 He was..curiously elated beneath a sturdy, *shock-proof exterior. 1925 Wireless World 8 Apr. 280/3 (heading) Shock-proof valve holder. 1930 R. Macaulay Staying with Relations xiv. 203 They needed a shock-proof screen between them, to deaden the assaults of each on the other's strained nerves. 1952 H. R. Clauser Pract. Radiogr. for Industry iii. 37 Protection is obtained by immersing the [X-ray] tube in oil inside a shockproof casing. 1971 J. Wainwright Dig Grave & let him Lie 20 He was shockproof—the ultimate example of what bobbying can do to a man. 1978 R. Good Watches in Colour viii. 116 Shock-proof bearings for the balance pivots. |
| 1952 H. R. Clauser Pract. Radiogr. for Industry iii. 37 *Shockproofing of x-ray tubes can be done by enclosing the tube in a casing which is at ground potential. |
| 1946 D. de Carle Practical Watch Repairing (1947) xx. 262 The *shock-resistant watch cannot be looked upon as a novelty, in the sense that it is a passing phase. 1963 New Yorker 7 Dec. 136/1 (Advt.), Self-winding, thin, water- and shock-resistant. |
| 1842 Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 285/2 We have reduced the blow or *shock-resisting quality of the iron. |
| 1863 Patmore Angel in Ho. ii. i. ix, My lonely faith, like heart-of-oak, *Shock-season'd. |
| 1938 Proc. R. Soc. A. CLXIX. 188 This critical speed at which the sound wave condenses into a single pressure discontinuity is probably the *shock stall or compressibility stall. 1948 Sci. News VII. 30 The use of swept-back wings raises the critical Mach number for the aircraft and allows the higher speeds to be reached without the danger of shock stall. 1966 D. Stinton Anat. of Aeroplane vi. 103 The buffeting and sharp loss of lift (Shockstall) caused by compressibility gave rise to the early misconception of a ‘sound-barrier’, beyond which man might not fly. |
| 1937 Flight 4 Nov. 450/1 The elliptic cylinder..has a lower maximum velocity..and therefore presumably a higher *shock stalling speed. 1952 W. J. Duncan Princ. Control & Stability of Aircraft xiii. 310 The separation of the shock stalling and critical Mach numbers may vary from almost zero to about 0·2. |
| 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 5 Nov. 9/6 (Advt.), You'll see the *shock story of the year. |
| 1931 F. D. Bradbrooke Light Aeroplane Man. vi. 92 When the advantages of the divided undercarriage began to compel attention the shock-absorbing gear had to be incorporated in the compression or *shock strut. This was done by having a telescopic strut, generally with projections in each portion which were lashed with rubber cord in such a way that a shortening of the strut stretched the cord. 1949 J. W. Vale Aviation Mechanic's Aircraft Man. xii. 343 The fluid used in the Pneudraulic shock struts..may be used for initial filling or for partial refilling. |
| 1895 Sir E. Wood Cavalry Waterloo Campaign i. (ed. 2) 2 The most successful ‘Nation in Arms’, believing thoroughly in the use of *shock tactics, has adopted the lance, not only for ‘Medium’, but also for ‘Light’ Cavalry. 1919 Manch. Guardian 4 Feb. 5/1 It was the ‘shock Tactics’ of labour warfare. 1954 Essays & Studies VII. 84 To judge from the vehement reactions of the critics, the revolutionary shock-tactics seem in this aim to have succeeded remarkably well. 1959 Listener 19 Nov. 895/2 This definition of Zen as a kind of natural mysticism whose shock-tactic and other techniques are designed to stimulate the intuitive and..religious awareness. 1960 G. E. Evans Horse in Furrow xx. 239 His initial shock tactics were successful: he gained control of the horse. 1961 Encounter Apr. 56/2 This shock-tactic had by no means the same general appeal as his witch being burnt at the stake. 1977 R. Barnard Blood Brotherhood ix. 92 There was a hidden design behind..Chief Inspector Plunkett's questions, or perhaps..he was trying shock tactics. |
| 1904 Proc. Inst. Mech. Engineers 1135 Considerable movement has been made of late towards the establishment of a *shock test for steel. 1949 J. F. Blackburn Components Handbk. xiii. 516 In certain cases the shock tests resulted in permanent mechanical damage to the relays, often without opening the contacts. 1974 Jrnl. Soc. Environmental Engineers XIII. 17/1 Maximum displacement during a shock test can be obtained in several ways, one of the simplest is to measure the deformation of a piece of plasticine. |
| 1917 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. XCVI. 65 The regularity of the results which can be obtained with carefully manipulated *shock-testing machines. Ibid., A system of calibrating apparatus for the shock-testing of metals. 1963 C. T. Morrow Shock & Vibration Engin. I. v. 114 The advantages of an asymmetrical pulse shape in shock testing. |
| 1917 Jrnl. Exper. Med. XXVI. 699 The mechanism of recovery following the so called ‘protein *shock therapy’. Ibid. 705 Bacterial infection not confined to the lymph spaces will not be influenced by shock therapy to the same extent. 1939 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 16 Sept. 1170/2 Dislocations and fractures occur in insulin and metrazol shock therapy. Ibid. 2 Dec. 2100/2 The author recommends the use of electric shock therapy for old cases of depressive psychosis in which other therapeutic methods have failed. 1953 H. Read True Voice of Feeling i. viii. 149 There may be more sense in [Ezra] Pound's shock-therapy. 1973 W. Barlow Alexander Principle i. 13 The psychiatrists..treated her with shock therapy and anti-depressant drugs. 1979 Tucson Mag. Jan. 24/1 The shock therapy that was Simon's murder induced a spirited public outcry. |
| 1938 M. Sakel (title) The pharmacological *shock treatment of schizophrenia. 1939 Jrnl. Amer. Med. Assoc. 16 Sept. 1170/2 (heading) Faradic shock treatment of ‘functional’ psychoses. 1945 Koestler Yogi & Commissar iii. iii. 202 That diplomatic shock-treatment of which they have so far only had a faint foretaste. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Jan. 7/1 We believe that the ‘shock treatment’ of prompt action is needed to halt the insane spiral of mounting costs and rising prices. 1974 Listener 24 Jan. 124/3 Munch suffered a complete breakdown, received shock treatment at a clinic in Copenhagen. |
| 1949 Sci. Amer. Nov. 18/2 These pictures illustrate the great potentiality of the *shock tube in observing and recording supersonic flow patterns. 1977 I. M. Campbell Energy & Atmosphere v. 105 In the shock tube these conditions are produced by the rapid adiabatic compression of air or N2–O2 mixtures across the shock front created by the sudden release of high-pressure driver gas at one end of the tube. |
| 1933 Archit. Rev. LXXIV. 68/1 The Daily Mail, drawn naturally to the new medium by its tradition of public-spirited interest in aviation and its awareness of the *shock-value of surprise. 1959 Encounter Nov. 59/2 He had never dreamt that his [ballet] company would have such shock-value. |
b. shock troops [
tr. G.
stosstruppen], forces of selected and specially armed men trained for deployment in assault operations, especially against strong positions or large numbers; (rarely)
sing., such a force. Also
fig. and
attrib. (in
sing.). Hence
shock trooper.
| 1917 Times 20 June 5/5 The second shock-troop battalion of the Third Army. 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms 553 Shock Troops, troops especially selected for assault work. They usually wear steel breastplates and other protection strong enough to turn a bullet at 50 or 60 feet. 1927 Daily Express 14 July 9/4 The G.P.U. troops..in..a war against Poland and Britain..would be used as shock troops. 1928 Dict. Amer. Biogr. I. 382/2 A master of strategy usually stays behind the lines. Not so Bishop Asbury. He asked no more of his skirmishers and shock troops than he was himself prepared to undergo. 1934 W. A. Edwards in F. R. Leavis Determinations 155 Swinburne, like some Soviet shock⁓trooper exhorting feeble comrades, batters and bullies us into thinking every playwright a demi-god. 1938 Auden & Isherwood On Frontier i. i. 30 As for the Shock Troops..the whole organization's rotten from top to bottom. Ibid. ii. i. 61 Such a nice boy! And quite high up in his shock-troop already. Ibid. ii. 84 My Peace Speech. I shall stand before my shock troopers and I shall tell them [etc.]. 1940 Ann. Reg. 1939 225, 54 front⁓line divisions..of which 14 divisions represented shock troops. 1940 War Illustr. 12 Apr. 353 Those who man the submarines may well be called the ‘shock troops’ of the sea, for of all the seafaring men their task is surely the most arduous and the most dangerous. 1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid ii. 48 At the Scaean gate, panoplied Juno Heads the shock-troops. 1955 M. E. B. Banks Commando Climber i. 6 As the war developed, the general trend of commando operations had been..towards the amphibious shock-troop variety of fighting, usually on a brigade or at least on a commando scale. 1955 A. Galland First & Last xii. 91 The fighter supporting land operations of the army is exclusively a tactical arm, a kind of ‘flying shock-troop’, for attacking at low level enemy positions and troop movements in the front line, even with bombs, rockets and small arms. 1959 Listener 10 Dec. 1031/1 The main line of Chartist stock in the north is poorly represented. Where are those shock troops of Feargus O'Connor, from whose enduring loyalty his influence in the movement was derived? 1962 Daily Tel. 14 Sept. 24/5 While Mr. Macmillan was having longish talks with Mr. Menzies of Australia and Mr. Diefenbaker of Canada and others, his shocktroop Ministers, Mr. Sandys and Mr. Heath were standing up to all comers. 1968 Economist 16 Nov. 67/1 The National Union of Mineworkers' leaders voted to accept exactly the same percentage pay rise for their men, once the shocktroops of the wage struggle. 1973 R. L. Fox Alexander iv. 78 The Shield Bearers..served as shock troops on night raids, hill climbs and forced marches. 1975 Guardian 21 Jan. 14/1 The cliché about the Jesuits as the ‘Pope's shock troops’. 1977 Times 21 Nov. 15/6 Many members of the Waffen SS..were used simply as shock troops during Hitler's War. |
c. Applied to a worker in the
U.S.S.R. who voluntarily exceeds the production quotas and is regarded as exemplary, and to a brigade formed by such workers and used for the achievement of arduous or urgent tasks; also to such methods of work.
| 1931 S. N. Harper Making Bolsheviks iii. 52 The so-called ‘shock-brigade movement’ among workmen, which is interpreted by the Communists as an illustration of a new attitude and as a new and vital force produced by the Revolution. Ibid. 53 The shock-brigade of a given factory or mine is a voluntary organization of workmen who have come together to fulfil and, if possible, exceed the quota of production assigned to the factory under the Five-Year Plan of expansion. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 July 536/4 ‘Cultural work’ is still in effect a kind of propagandist ‘shock work’. 1931 Morning Post 11 Aug. 11/7 Three hundred and fifty Russian ‘shock workers’ landed in London from the S.S. Ukraine yesterday for a two days' ‘holiday’. 1934 Spectator 26 Oct. 615/2 The ‘shock-brigaders’ and star ‘go-getters’. 1938 Times 25 July 13/6 The other projects undertaken by the groups include organization of labour to help in times of special agricultural pressure (like the Shock Brigades in Russia). 1939 R. Campbell Flowering Rifle v. 124 Each grim, shock-working Stakhanov. 1946 ― Talking Bronco 16 For us mere Shock-workers of the Camp and City Whose sweat, and life-blood, is their beer. 1949 F. Maclean Eastern Approaches i. xi. 157 From what I had heard of Soviet ‘shock’ methods a group of Stakhanovites or shock-workers should be able to put any paddle boat in order in an hour or two. 1962 E. Snow Red China Today (1963) lviii. 441 By intensive cultivation, luck and shock-brigade methods, we brought in a rich harvest in record time. 1981 I. Boland tr. Ginzburg's Within Whirlwind i. x. 84 The management did not want to use force... These girls were shock workers. |
▸
shock jock n. orig. U.S. a talk-radio host or disc jockey who is deliberately provocative or offensive, and frequently abusive to callers.
| 1986 Washington Post 23 Feb. f8/2 The fact is that *shock jocks are few and far between, and most radio industry professionals deplore their most extreme behavior. 1995 Guardian 23 Jan. ii. 12/4 Caesar is enjoying a burgeoning reputation as the British version of the American ‘shockjocks’, who have established themselves on naked confrontation and outrageous opinions. 2003 New Yorker 26 May 58/2 Mancow Muller, the Chicago-based radio shock jock..appears regularly on the morning show. |
▸
shock rock n. rock music,
esp. heavy metal, where the performers present an image that seeks to shock,
esp. through the use of sexual imagery or theatrical violence.
| 1981 Christian Sci. Monitor 7 Jan. 19/3 John Snyder as the *shock-rocker aggressively bent on singing songs of social significance. 2000 Big Issue 4 Sept. 17/3 Slipknot might be the latest of the shock-rockers, but they're following a tradition which stretches back years. |
shock rocker n.| 1966 Los Angeles Times 27 Nov. (West section) 38/2 Now the Mothers and the Fugs and their confreres from San Francisco—the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Sopwith Camel to name a few—all participate in creating what has been called ‘*Shock-Rock’ a combination of far-out music with Theater of the Absurd. 1971 Christian Sci. Monitor 12 Nov. 15/1 There's hard rock, soft rock,..plus any number of other classifications that various writers and fans have come up with to describe the trend or sound of the moment: car rock, surfing rock, shock rock. 1989 Spin Oct. 101/3 Today the whole notion of ‘shock rock’ seems quaint or absurd, and Alice Cooper's been washed up for so long that he's now unrecognizable. 2003 Denver Post (Nexis) 16 Oct. f7 Most fans fell for Manson's brand of shock rock with 1996's ‘Antichrist Superstar’. |
▪ IV. † shock, n.4 Obs. [See shough.] A dog having long shaggy hair,
spec. a poodle. See also
shock-dog.
| 1638 Nabbes Bride v. i, My neighbour is very skilfull; he cured my little shock of the mange. 1685 Tate Cuckolds-Haven i. ii. 5 Dear delicate Madam, I am your little Paraquit, your Sparrow, your Shock, your Pugg, your Squirrel. 1709 Steele & Swift Tatler No. 70 ¶15 The Bones are pick'd clean by a little French Shock that belongs to the Family. 1719 D'Urfey Pills II. 331 Neat Spanniel 'Squires and combing Shocks,..Were at her Leve early. 1800 Shaw Gen. Zool. I. 280 Maltese Dog... In some of its varieties the hair is extremely long, as in the Skock [? read Shock] and the Lion-Dog. |
▪ V. shock, n.5 (
ʃɒk)
[? Formed as next adj.] A thick mass (of hair).
| 1819 ‘R. Rabelais’ Abeillard & Heloisa 70 Each Blood, who all day capers, At night puts up his shock in papers. 1847 Longfellow Evang. i. iii. 3 Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of the maize. 1883 Stevenson Silverado Sq. 140 He would toss back his shock of hair and laugh hoarsely. 1894 Geog. Jrnl. III. 479 They are beardless, and usually wear a shock of unkempt hair. |
| transf. 1888 Stevenson Black Arrow i. vi, The pit was sandy and dry; a shock of brambles hung upon one edge. |
▪ VI. shock, a. (
ʃɒk)
[? Back-formation from shock-dog.] a. Having rough thick hair. Of hair: Rough and thick, shaggy. (See also
shock-head.)
| 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 39 (1713) I. 255 A certain little shock Whig. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 253 The white shock Turky Rabbet. 1771 Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 30, I reached through the water to his schock pate and drew him up. 1862 Borrow Wales xxv. I. 294 He was a fellow with red shock hair and very red features. 1865 Alex. Smith Summer in Skye II. 205 There were quick and nimble brains under the shock heads of the lads you saw. |
b. Comb., as
shock-bearded,
shock-haired,
shock-maned,
shock-pated adjs.| 1908 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 408/2 *Shock-bearded peasants. |
| 1862 Calverley Verses & Transl. (1894) 89 Bob the *shock-haired knifeboy. |
| 1922 *Shock-maned [see shaggy-chested s.v. shaggy a. 3]. |
| 1830 Miss Mitford Village Ser. iv. 281 A handy, good humoured, *shock-pated fellow. |
▪ VII. † shock, v.1 Obs. In 5
schokke.
[Before the 16th c. found only in Morte Arthure; cf. shog v., and MLG., MHG. schocken to swing, wag, quiver; also G. schaukeln to swing.] 1. intr. To go swiftly and suddenly; to dart, rush; to make a rapid or forced march. Chiefly with
adv.,
away,
down,
in,
on.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1759 Thay..Schokkes in with a schakke, and schontez no langere. Ibid. 4235 He..schokkes in scharpely in his schene wedys. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius iv. 104 They shocked away in divers companies. 1581 A. Hall Iliad iv. 62 An enterprise it selfe presentes, whereto if so you shocke, Men shal thee cal the happiest this side the Ocean firre. 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iv. 62 There came out..about thirtie horsemen, shockyng firste on towardes Eastwike Trenche, and anon towards Westwike. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 246 And so shocking downe towards the straits of Bosphorus, by his embassador concluded a league with Emanuell the Greeke Emperour. |
2. trans. To move suddenly and swiftly.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3816 In he schokkes his schelde, schountes he no lengare. Ibid. 3852 He schokkes owtte a schorte knyfe schethede with siluere. |
▪ VIII. shock, v.2 (
ʃɒk)
Forms: α. 6
shok, 6–7
shocke, 6–
shock; β. 6
chock, 7
chocke,
chocque, 8
choak.
[app. a. F. choquer (13th c.) = Sp. chocar, of obscure origin. Some regard the
vb. as an adoption from Germanic, comparing
OHG. scoc swing,
MHG. schocken to swing. But an early
OF. ch can hardly represent G.
sch, and the affinity of sense is not close. Others suppose that the original sense is ‘to stumble, knock against’, the
vb. being
f. OF. choque tree-stump;
cf. OF. choper to stumble,
f. chope tree-stump.
The senses below are all from
Fr. choquer, and were introduced at different periods: see note to sense 4. The older
shock v.
1 appears to be unconnected.
¶The form
chock (
prob. to be regarded as a distinct word) occurs (in the 16–17th c.) in various senses of
Fr. choquer.
trans. (a.) To knock about, buffet. (b.) To give a blow to; to ‘chuck’ under the chin. (c.) To knock one against the other, to jingle (coins).
(a.)
1567 Turberv. Epit., etc. 128
Now, now the churlish chanell me doth chock, Now surging Seas conspire to breede my carke. (b.)
1583 [see
chuck v.
2].
1607 Markham
Caval. iv. vi. 29
The verie manner of bringing a horse vnto it, which is by chocking him in the mouth. Ibid. viii. 38
You shal neither chock him in the mouth, nor [etc.]. 1658 [see
chuck v.
2 1].
(c.)
1627 Drayton
Agincourt 63
In the Tauerne, in his Cups doth rore, Chocking his Crownes.]
1. a. intr. To come into violent contact, to collide, clash
together;
esp. to encounter in the shock of battle. Now only
arch. or as a Gallicism.
| 1576 Turberv. Venerie xvii. 45 They beginne then both of them to vault, and to scrape the grounde with their feete, shocking and butting one against another. 1584 Hudson Du Bartas' Judith iii. (1608) 46 Together soone they shock with hatefull yre. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. i. xxv. 116 One would have said, that four towres torn from their foundations, by so many whirlwinds, had shocked together. 1742 Hume Ess., Parties (1817) I. 54 Two men, travelling on the highway, the one east, the other west, can easily pass each other, if the way be broad enough: but two men, reasoning upon opposite principles of religion, cannot so easily pass, without shocking. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1862) I. 49 Two mountains shocked against each other, approaching and retiring with the most dreadful noise. 1832 Tennyson Love thou thy Land 78 If New and Old, disastrous feud, Must ever shock, like armed foes. 1872 ― Gareth & Lynette 939 All at fiery speed the two Shock'd on the central bridge. 1888 Chamb. Jrnl. 6 Oct. 626/2 Carriage after carriage shocked fiercely against the engine and the compartments in front of it. |
† b. trans. To collide with, jostle.
Obs.| 1783 Justamond tr. Raynal's Hist. Indies V. 151 It is necessary to fix them with several anchors, to prevent their shocking each other. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship II. 268 The rudder is shocked by the water. |
† c. To run counter to, to oppose.
Obs. rare.
| 1667 Dryden Ind. Emp. i. ii, That Monarch sits not safely on his Throne, Who bears, within, a power that shocks his own. 1676 ― Aurengz. ii. i, Advise him not to shock a Father's Will. |
† 2. To assail with a sudden and violent attack, to charge (an enemy) with troops, etc.
Obs.| 1614 Gorges Lucan iii. 110 But whosoever of the foes Did shocke their sides, or changed blowes With Brutus shippe, him grappling fast, He boords. 1699 Relat. Sir. T. Morgan's Progr. France 7 Major-General Morgan demanded of his Excellency, whether he would Shock the whole Army at one dash, or try one Wing first? 1767 Ann. Reg., Acc. Bks. 276/1 The Christians rowed forwards..and shocked the enemy's gallies with the spurs or beaks of theirs. |
3. † a. To throw (troops) into confusion by an onset or charge; to damage or weaken by impact or collision; to destroy the stability of. Also
fig.| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 1364 The Countie Egmond..recharged vpon them with all his forces together so terribly that he shokt all their battayle. 1674–5 Stillingfl. Serm. 24 Feb., Wks. 1710 I. 215 They who could not be shocked by persecution were in danger of being overcome by flattery. 1726 G. Roberts Four Yrs. Voy. 351 That Sea that shock'd the Vessel, was a Forerunner of a greater. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) II. 770/1 It carried down trunks of trees.., which much shocked and weakened the pillars of his bridge. |
† b. To shake (a building, etc.) with an earthquake shock.
Obs.| 1731 [see raise v. 4 a]. 1742 Plant Earthquakes in Phil. Trans. XLII. 34 It continued roaring, bursting, and shocking our Houses all that Night. |
c. To subject to or transform by mechanical shock.
Cf. shocked ppl. a. 3.
| 1950 D. Q. Kern Process Heat Transfer xiv. 382 Hard scale which can be shocked from the tube. 1965 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. CXXIII. 602 Salt shocked by a chemical explosion adjusted mainly by plastic glide along close⁓spaced slip planes. 1968 Ahrens & Rosenberg in French & Short Shock Metamorphism of Natural Materials 59/2 The Hugoniot curve is defined as the locus of pressure-volume-energy states that may be achieved within the material by shocking it from a given initial state. |
4. a. In early use, to wound the feelings of, offend, displease. In later use, with stronger sense: To affect with a painful feeling of intense aversion or disapproval; to scandalize, horrify; to outrage (a person's sentiments, prejudices, etc.). Often in passive, to be scandalized or horrified
at.
The prevalent 17th c. spelling (see β) shows that the sense was then regarded as a use of the F.
choquer.
| α 1694 Congreve Double Dealer v. xvii, Thy stubborn temper shocks me, and you knew it would. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 6 ¶2 They are no more shocked at Vice and Folly, than Men of slower Capacities. 1767 Lady S. Bunbury in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1843) II. 178 I am shocked to death to see you must be back by the end of September. 1815 Scott Guy M. iv, They durst not at once shock the universal prejudices of their age. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 188 Every moderate man was shocked by the insolence, cruelty, and perfidy with which the nonconformists were treated. 1867 Smiles Huguenots Eng. x. (1880) 164 The priests who visited the slaves at the galleys were horribly shocked at the cruelties practised on them. 1880 L. Stephen Pope vii. 175 Pope..was terribly shocked when he found himself accused of heterodoxy. |
| β 1656 Cowley Odes, 2nd Olympique Introd., The Reader must not be chocqued to hear him speak so often of his own Muse. 1663 Sir G. Mackenzie Relig. Stoici x. (1685) 97 To abrogate, by our practice, whatever chocks our present humor. 1708 Swift Abol. Christianity Misc. (1711) 174 The Gentlemen of Wit and Pleasure are apt to murmur, and be choqued at the sight of so many daggled-tail Parsons. |
b. absol. Also
intr. for pass., to suffer shock.
| 1820 Belzoni Egypt & Nubia i. 109 Those [customs] which shock at first sight, lose their effect on him. 1959 N. Clad Love & Money (1960) 15 She liked to say things to shock Clarence, partly because he shocked so easily. 1967 Listener 5 Oct. 448/3 Triana's play does shock. |
5. a. To impart a physical shock to, to cause (a person or a part of the body) to suffer a nervous shock.
| 1733 Belloste Hosp. Surg. ii. 17 Mercury produces its effect..by its shocking and disengaging the fibres. 1747 tr. Astruc's Fevers 213 The corresponding parts of the medullary substance are so shocked, that the animal spirits there contained are more vigorously protruded into the nerves. 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 271 The nervous system was so much shocked. 1900 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 3 Feb. 257/2 The state of the patients, as to collapse, when first seen varied enormously..: some were absolutely ‘shocked’, others not at all so. |
b. To give (a person) an electric shock.
| 1746 Watson in Phil. Trans. XLIV. 741 It remains now, that I endeavour to lay before you a Solution why our Bodies are so shocked in the Experiments with the electrified Water. 1769 E. Bancroft Guiana 196 The Torporific Eel, caught by a hook, violently shocks the person holding the line. 1882 Nature XXVI. 260, I got severely shocked [by lightning] when sending my report. |
▪ IX. shock, v.3 Now
dial. (
ʃɒk)
[f. shock n.1] 1. trans. To arrange (sheaves) in a shock. Also with
up.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 447/2 Schokkyn schovys or oþer lyke, tasso. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 23 After that he wedeth it, repeth it, bindeth it, and shocketh it, and at the last caryeth it home to his barne. 1584 Act 23 Eliz. c. 10 §2 Before..suche Corne and Graine shalbe shocked, cocked, hiled or copped. 1657 Trapp Comm. Job v. 26 Corn when ripe is reaped, shockt up, and carried into the barn. 1764 Museum Rust. II. 107 Some shock their sheaves, setting them up in traves of six sheaves of a side, and two to cap them. 1836 Backwoods of Canada 188 The ripe corn is either shocked as beans..or the cobs pulled and braided on ropes. 1899 Rider Haggard Farmer's Yr. 325 We finished cutting, tying, and shocking the wheat on Baker's. |
| absol. 1599 Breton Praise Virtuous Ladies (Grosart) 59/1 If he can shocke, shee can binde sheafes. |
† b. transf. and
fig. Obs.| c 1450 Lydg. & Burgh Secrees 354 In sondry konnynges I Can Remembre noon,..But ye haue parcel of hem euerychoon, And shokkyd hem vp in Ordre by and by. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 19 Valantynys be put and shocked in a close vessell as is a cappe. 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions Pref. 6, I haue shocked theim [stories] vp together, as well those of aunciente tyme, as of later yeres. |
† 2. refl. and intr. To crowd together.
Obs.| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxiii. 252 And whan thei wil fighte, thei wille schokken hem to gidre in a plomp. [Fr. ils sount si sarres ensemble que..]. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 33 Sodaynly the Frenchmen shocked to their standarde and fled. 1622 F. Markham Bk. War iv. viii. 151 He shall also see that when they march in Battalia, then they shocke close together and as it were ioyne Cush to Cush. |