I. ˈshärd, ˈshȧd noun
also sherd ˈshərd, -ə̄d, -əid
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sceard; akin to Middle High German scharte notch, nick, Old Norse skarth notch, mountain pass, Old English sceran, scieran to cut, shear — more at shear
1.
a. : a piece or fragment of a brittle substance (as of an earthen vessel) ; broadly : a small piece : residue , remains
b. : shell , scale ; especially : an elytron of a beetle
c. usually sherd : fragments of pottery vessels found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived and regarded as one of the best indexes of time differences in culture — compare stratigraphy
d. : highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments
2.
a. : a notch or gap (as in a hedge or bank)
b. obsolete : a separating body of water
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
: to break shards from : break into shards
intransitive verb
: to shed bark in shards
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably alteration (influenced by shard ) (I) of sharn
chiefly dialect : a dropping of cow dung
IV.
archaic
variant of chard