n. & v.
--n.
1. a esp. hist. a piece of armour of esp. metal, carried on the arm or in the hand to deflect blows from the head or body. b a thing serving to protect (insurance is a shield against disaster).
2 a thing resembling a shield, esp.: a a trophy in the form of a shield. b a protective plate or screen in machinery etc. c a shieldlike part of an animal, esp. a shell. d a similar part of a plant. e Geol. a large rigid area of the earth's crust, usu. of Precambrian rock, which has been unaffected by later orogenic episodes. f US a policeman's shield-shaped badge.
3 Heraldry a stylized representation of a shield used for displaying a coat of arms etc.
--v.tr. protect or screen, esp. from blame or lawful punishment.
Phrases and idioms:
shield fern 1 any common fern of the genus Polystichum, with shield-shaped indusia.
2 BUCKLER 2.
Derivatives:
shieldless adj.
Etymology: OE sc(i)eld f. Gmc: prob. orig. board, rel. to SCALE(1)