- sherd
- Shard Shard (sh[aum]rd), n. [AS. sceard, properly a p. p. from
the root of scearn to shear, to cut; akin to D. schaard a
fragment, G. scharte a notch, Icel. skar[eth]. See {Shear},
and cf. {Sherd}.] [Written also {sheard}, and {sherd}.]
1. A piece or fragment of an earthen vessel, or a like
brittle substance, as the shell of an egg or snail.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The precious dish Broke into shards of beauty on the board. --E. Arnold. [1913 Webster]
2. (Zo["o]l.) The hard wing case of a beetle. [1913 Webster]
They are his shards, and he their beetle. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. A gap in a fence. [Obs.] --Stanyhurst. [1913 Webster]
4. A boundary; a division. [Obs. & R.] --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.