Shear

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ʃɪə(ɹ)/

Definitions

1. To cut or trim something using a sharp blade or tool ; to cause material to slide or break by applying forces in opposite directions ; to clip or remove the wool from a sheep by cutting it off
2. To slice or snip fabric, hair, or other substances with a cutting instrument ; to distort or fracture a solid by forces pushing parts sideways against each other ; to harvest the fleece from a sheep by cutting it away from the skin
3. To use scissors or similar tools to trim or divide items precisely ; to create strain in an object by applying opposing parallel forces ; to gather or shear the wool coat of a sheep by shearing

Etymology: Shear is one of the few English verbs whose modern spelling hides a sound change: the Old English form "sċieran" was pronounced with a sound close to "sh" at the start, and the "sh" sound has stayed while the vowel has shifted and the word has narrowed. Its ancestor, Proto-Germanic "skeraną", meant simply "to cut", and the same root turns up across Europe and beyond. Dutch and German "scheren", Swedish "skära" and Icelandic "skera" all share it, and it reaches further afield in Ancient Greek "keírō", "to cut off", and Latin "caro", "flesh", which may be a surprise to find in a word for cutting wool. The word passed into Middle English as "sheren" and "scheren", and for centuries it covered the trimming of cloth and the clipping of sheep alike, which is why a shearer's work and a tailor's work once overlapped. Its root also gave English the word "sharp", which comes from the same idea of something that cuts cleanly.

Synonyms: cut, clip, trim, snip, shave

Antonyms: join, attach, connect, combine, fasten