shear

Pronunciation: /ʃɪə/

The English word “shear” has 18 meanings listed here.

verb

To remove the fleece from (a sheep, llama, etc.) by clipping.
To cut the hair of (a person).
To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
To deform because of forces pushing in opposite directions.
To change in direction or speed.
To transform by displacing every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point’s distance from the line.
To make a vertical cut in coal.
(also 'shear off') To break or suddenly separate because of excessive force, eg. a bolt.
To reap, as grain.
To deprive of property; to fleece.

noun

A cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger.
A large machine use for cutting sheet metal.
The act of shearing, or something removed by shearing.
Forces that push in opposite directions.
The phenomenon of wind shear.
A specific instance of wind shear.
A transformation that displaces every point in a direction parallel to some given line by a distance proportional to the point's distance from the line.
The response of a rock to deformation usually by compressive stress, resulting in particular textures.

Etymology

From Middle English sheren, scheren, from Old English sċieran (“to shear; to shave”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeran, from Proto-Germanic *skeraną, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Cognate with West Frisian skarre, Low German, Dutch, and German scheren, Danish skære, Norwegian Bokmål skjære, Norwegian Nynorsk skjera, Swedish skära, Faroese and Icelandic skera, (borrowed from…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.