shrew

shrew
   Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew has probably helped to keep this word alive, and to associate it almost exclusively with women.
   In Shakespeare’s own time it could equally well be applied to a man, one who was felt to be malignant, but by the end of the seventeenth century it referred to a scold.
   The word does not often occur vocatively in literature, though presumably it may do so in a backstreet slanging-match. Shakespeare uses it only once in direct address, when Sir Andrew Aguecheek meets Olivia’s chambermaid Maria for the first time and calls her ‘fair shrew’. She does not seem to object to the word, but his ‘Bless you, fair shrew’ is clearly not insulting.
   The shrew mouse was reputed in former times to have evil powers, hence the use of the word for a malignant person. ‘Shrewd’ derives from the same source. This now means ‘astute’, but Originally meant ‘hurtful’.

A dictionary of epithets and terms of address . . 2015.

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  • Shrew — Shrew, n. [See {Shrew}, a.] 1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a brawler; a scold. [1913 Webster] A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shrew — Shrew, v. t. [See {Shrew}, a., and cf. {Beshrew}.] To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] I shrew myself. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Shrew — Shrew, a. [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. {Shrewd}.] Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] Chaucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • shrew — small mammal, O.E. screawa shrew mouse, unknown outside English, perhaps from P.Gmc. *skreu to cut (see SHRED (Cf. shred)). Alternative O.E. word for it was scirfemus, from sceorfan to gnaw. The meaning peevish, malignant, clamorous, spiteful,… …   Etymology dictionary

  • shrew — [ʃru:] n [: Old English; Origin: screawa] 1.) a very small animal like a mouse with a long pointed nose 2.) old fashioned an unpleasant woman who always argues and disagrees with people …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • shrew — [ ʃru ] noun count 1. ) a small animal that looks like a mouse with a pointed nose 2. ) OLD FASHIONED an insulting word for a woman who always complains, argues, or NAGS …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • shrew — scold, vixen, termagant, *virago, amazon …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • shrew — ► NOUN 1) a small insect eating mammal resembling a mouse, with a long pointed snout and tiny eyes. 2) a bad tempered or aggressively assertive woman. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • shrew — [shro͞o] n. [ME schrewe, a malicious person < OE screawa, shrewmouse, akin to OHG scrawaz, dwarf, goblin, MHG schröuwel, devil < IE * (s)ker : see SHRED] 1. any of a number of small, slender, mouselike insectivore mammals (esp. family… …   English World dictionary

  • shrew — shrew1 shrewlike, adj. /shrooh/, n. a woman of violent temper and speech; termagant. [1200 50; ME; special use of SHREW2] Syn. virago, nag, scold. shrew2 /shrooh/, n. any of several small, mouselike insectivores of the genus Sorex and related… …   Universalium

  • Shrew — Taxobox name = ShrewsMSW3 Hutterer | pages = 223 300] fossil range = Middle Eocene to Recent image width = 250px image caption = Southern Short tailed Shrew regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia ordo = Soricomorpha familia =… …   Wikipedia

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