Shrew

5 definitions found

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

  Shrew \Shrew\, v. t. [See {Shrew}, a., and cf. {Beshrew}.]
     To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] "I shrew myself." --Chaucer.
     [1913 Webster]

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



  Shrew \Shrew\, a. [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. {Shrewd}.]
     Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
     [1913 Webster]

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

  Shrew \Shrew\, n. [See {Shrew}, a.]
     1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of
        either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a
        brawler; a scold.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men]
              have prosperity, or else that good men have
              adversity.                            --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could
              be no quiet in the house for her.     --L'Estrange.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. [AS. scre['a]wa; -- so called because supposed to be
        venomous. ] (Zool.) Any small insectivore of the genus
        {Sorex} and several allied genera of the family
        {Sorecidae}. In form and color they resemble mice, but
        they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are
        the smallest of all mammals.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The common European species are the house shrew
           ({Crocidura araneus}), and the erd shrew ({Sorex
           vulgaris}) (see under {Erd}.). In the United States
           several species of {Sorex} and {Blarina} are common, as
           the broadnosed shrew ({Sorex platyrhinus}), Cooper's
           shrew ({Sorex Cooperi}), and the short-tailed, or mole,
           shrew ({Blarina brevicauda}). Th American water, or
           marsh, shrew ({Neosorex palustris}), with fringed feet,
           is less common. The common European water shrews are
           {Crossopus fodiens}, and the oared shrew (see under
           {Oared}).
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Earth shrew}, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family
        {Centetidae}, as the tendrac.
  
     {Elephant shrew}, {Jumping shrew}, {Mole shrew}. See under
        {Elephant}, {Jumping}, etc.
  
     {Musk shrew}. See {Desman}.
  
     {River shrew}, an aquatic West African insectivore
        ({Potamogale velox}) resembling a weasel in form and size,
        but having a large flattened and crested tail adapted for
        rapid swimming. It feeds on fishes.
  
     {Shrew mole}, a common large North American mole ({Scalops
        aquaticus}). Its fine, soft fur is gray with iridescent
        purple tints.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  shrew
       n 1: a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman [syn: {termagant}]
       2: small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles
          [syn: {shrewmouse}]

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

  30 Moby Thesaurus words for "shrew":
     Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Primates, Rodentia, Xanthippe, amazon,
     banshee, battle-ax, beldam, bitch, cat, common scold, crone,
     dragon, fishwife, fury, hag, harpy, harridan, nag, ogress, scold,
     she-devil, she-wolf, spitfire, termagant, tigress, virago, vixen,
     witch