shield English · revision 6141

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *skelduz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃiːld/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English scheld, shild, [[inh|ang|scield|t=shield; protector]], also sceld, scild,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*skelduz]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which is also the source of [[osx|skild]], [[nl|schild]], [[goh|scilt]] (German Schild), [[non|skjǫldr]] and [[got|𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍃|tr=skildus]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) It probably first meant a board, from a base [[m|gem-pro|*skel-|t=to divide, split]],^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*(s)kel-|t=to cut]],^(Etymonline) and is related to [[shell]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Boutkan, quoted by Etymonline, thinks it rather meant a means of protection, a separation.^(Etymonline) The verb is Old English [[m|ang|scildan|t=to protect]].^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The defensive armour carried on the arm: about 725 in ''Beowulf'' in Barnhart,^(Barnhart 1988) about 825 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Something that defends against attack or injury, a protector, is in Old English, and God as a shield, a biblical use after the Psalms, from 971.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) ''Under shield'', in battle, is from before 1300,^(OED 1989) and in Middle English shield could also mean government or rule (1338).^(OED 1989) The shield-shaped field bearing a coat of arms is the heraldic sense,^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) and ''two sides of a shield'', two ways of looking at a question, is from about 1855.^(OED 1989) Protective devices of many kinds, such as a screen on a machine or the shield of a tunnelling machine, are later.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) In north-country dialect a shield-bone was a shoulder blade.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English scield, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 971 – God as a shield.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1300 – under shield, in battle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1338 – rule, government (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1855 – two sides of a shield.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A broad piece of [[armour]] carried on the arm or in the hand for protection against blows and missiles.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person or thing that protects.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A protective plate or screen, as on a machine or against [[radiation]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(heraldry)'' A shield-shaped [[escutcheon]] bearing a coat of arms.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A badge, as of a police officer, or a shield-shaped trophy.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To protect or defend, as with a shield.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To cover up or conceal.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[shielder]]

+ * [[shieldless]]

+ * [[shieldlessly]]

+ * [[shieldlessness]]

+ * [[shieldlike]]

+ * [[windshield]]

+ * [[dress shield]]

+ * [[heat shield]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[shell]]

+ * [[scale]]

+ * [[shelter]]

+ * [[shelduck]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}