SHEER


Meaning of SHEER in English

I. ˈshir verb

Etymology: perhaps alteration of shear (I)

Date: 1539

intransitive verb

: to deviate from a course : swerve

transitive verb

: to cause to sheer

II. noun

Date: 1670

1. : a turn, deviation, or change in a course (as of a ship)

2. : the position of a ship riding to a single anchor and heading toward it

III. adjective

Etymology: Middle English schere freed from guilt, probably alteration of skere, from Old Norse skærr pure; akin to Old English scīnan to shine

Date: circa 1568

1. obsolete : bright , shining

2. : of very thin or transparent texture : diaphanous

3.

a. : unqualified , utter

sheer folly

sheer ignorance

b. : being free from an adulterant : pure , unmixed

c. : viewed or acting in dissociation from all else

in terms of sheer numbers

4. : marked by great and continuous steepness

Synonyms: see steep

• sheer·ly adverb

• sheer·ness noun

IV. adverb

Date: 1599

1. : in a complete manner : altogether

2. : straight up or down without a break : perpendicularly

V. noun

Date: circa 1920

: a sheer fabric ; also : an article of such a fabric

VI. noun

Etymology: perhaps alteration of shear (II)

Date: 1691

: the fore-and-aft curvature from bow to stern of a ship's deck as shown in side elevation

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.