I. ˈshrü, esp South ˈsrü, dial ˈswü noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English shrewe evil person, scolding person, scolding woman, from Old English scrēawa shrew (small mammal)
1. : any of numerous small mouselike chiefly nocturnal mammals of the family Soricidae which are most closely related to the moles, have a long pointed snout, very small eyes, and velvety fur, feed mainly on worms and insects, and of which most United States forms belong in two genera ( Sorex and Blarina ) — see elephant shrew , long-tailed shrew , short-tailed shrew , tree shrew , water shrew
2. obsolete : a wicked or evil person : scoundrel
3. : a vexatious, scolding, or brawling woman : scold , termagant
a shrew , a woman with the temper of a fiend — C.S.Forester
shrew berating her unemployed husband for not supporting her — John McCarten
— often opposed to sheep
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English shrewen, from shrewe, n.
1. obsolete : curse
shrew me if I would lose it — Shakespeare
2. : to treat with shrewish abuse
a wicked woman to shrew his splendid features out of shape — Randall Jarrell