Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Shrew
1.
Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold.
A man . . . grudgeth that
shrews
[i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else that good men have adversity. Chaucer.
A man had got a
shrew
to his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house for her. L’Estrange.
2.
[AS.
screáwa
; – 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. ☞ 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
). Earth shrew
, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family
– Centetidae
, as the tendrac. Elephant shrew
, Jumping shrew
, Mole shrew
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.Webster 1828 Edition
Shrew
SHREW
,Noun.
1. A peevish, brawling, turbulent, vexatious woman. It appears to have originally been applied to males as well as females; but is now restricted to the latter.
The man had got a shrew for his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house with her. L'Estrange.
2. A shrew-mouse.
SHREW
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
shrew
shrew
English
Noun
shrew (plural shrews)
- Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.
- (pejorative) An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.
- You'd better not stay out late tonight — your mother is quite a shrew and you'll never hear the end of it.
Synonyms
- (mouselike mammal): ranny (obsolete)
Hyponyms
- (mouselike mammal): common shrew
Derived terms
terms derived from shrew (noun)
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Translations
mouselike animal
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woman
Verb
shrew (third-person singular simple present shrews, present participle shrewing, simple past and past participle shrewed)
Etymology
From Old English scrēawa. Cognates include Old High German scrawaz (“dwarf”), Norwegian skrugg (“dwarf”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: shro͞o, IPA(key): /ʃɹuː/
- Rhymes: -uː
A shrew (def. 1)