Should

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Shall \Shall\, v. i. & auxiliary. [imp. {Should}.] [OE. shal,
     schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged,
     imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres.
     skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen, pres. zal, imp. zoude, zou,
     OHG. solan, scolan, pres. scal, sol. imp. scolta, solta, G.
     sollen, pres. soll, imp. sollte, Icel. skulu, pres. skal,


     imp. skyldi, SW. skola, pres. skall, imp. skulle, Dan.
     skulle, pres. skal, imp. skulde, Goth. skulan, pres. skal,
     imp. skulda, and to AS. scyld guilt, G. schuld guilt, fault,
     debt, and perhaps to L. scelus crime.]
  
     Note: [Shall is defective, having no infinitive, imperative,
           or participle.]
     1. To owe; to be under obligation for. [Obs.] "By the faith I
        shall to God" --Court of Love.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To be obliged; must. [Obs.] "Me athinketh [I am sorry]
        that I shall rehearse it her." --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. As an auxiliary, shall indicates a duty or necessity whose
        obligation is derived from the person speaking; as, you
        shall go; he shall go; that is, I order or promise your
        going. It thus ordinarily expresses, in the second and
        third persons, a command, a threat, or a promise. If the
        auxillary be emphasized, the command is made more
        imperative, the promise or that more positive and sure. It
        is also employed in the language of prophecy; as, "the day
        shall come when . . ., " since a promise or threat and an
        authoritative prophecy nearly coincide in significance. In
        shall with the first person, the necessity of the action
        is sometimes implied as residing elsewhere than in the
        speaker; as, I shall suffer; we shall see; and there is
        always a less distinct and positive assertion of his
        volition than is indicated by will. "I shall go" implies
        nearly a simple futurity; more exactly, a foretelling or
        an expectation of my going, in which, naturally enough, a
        certain degree of plan or intention may be included;
        emphasize the shall, and the event is described as certain
        to occur, and the expression approximates in meaning to
        our emphatic "I will go." In a question, the relation of
        speaker and source of obligation is of course transferred
        to the person addressed; as, "Shall you go?" (answer, "I
        shall go"); "Shall he go?" i. e., "Do you require or
        promise his going?" (answer, "He shall go".) The same
        relation is transferred to either second or third person
        in such phrases as "You say, or think, you shall go;" "He
        says, or thinks, he shall go." After a conditional
        conjunction (as if, whether) shall is used in all persons
        to express futurity simply; as, if I, you, or he shall say
        they are right. Should is everywhere used in the same
        connection and the same senses as shall, as its imperfect.
        It also expresses duty or moral obligation; as, he should
        do it whether he will or not. In the early English, and
        hence in our English Bible, shall is the auxiliary mainly
        used, in all the persons, to express simple futurity. (Cf.
        {Will}, v. t.) Shall may be used elliptically; thus, with
        an adverb or other word expressive of motion go may be
        omitted. "He to England shall along with you." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Shall and will are often confounded by inaccurate
           speakers and writers. Say: I shall be glad to see you.
           Shall I do this? Shall I help you? (not Will I do
           this?) See {Will}.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Should \Should\ (sh[oo^]d), imp. of {Shall}. [OE. sholde,
     shulde, scholde, schulde, AS. scolde, sceolde. See {Shall}.]
     Used as an auxiliary verb, to express a conditional or
     contingent act or state, or as a supposition of an actual
     fact; also, to express moral obligation (see {Shall}); e. g.:
     they should have come last week; if I should go; I should
     think you could go. "You have done that you should be sorry
     for." --Shak.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: See {Ought}.
          [1913 Webster]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  18 Moby Thesaurus words for "should":
     be expedient, be forced, be in for, be necessary, be obliged,
     cannot do otherwise, cannot help but, had best, had better,
     have got to, have need to, have to, must, need, need to,
     needs must, ought, ought to