From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
shield
n 1: a protective covering or structure
2: armor carried on the arm to intercept blows [syn: shield,
buckler]
3: hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as
arthropods and turtles [syn: carapace, shell, cuticle,
shield]
v 1: protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm [syn:
shield, screen]
2: hold back a thought or feeling about; "She is harboring a
grudge against him" [syn: harbor, harbour, shield]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shield \Shield\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shielded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Shielding.] [AS. scidan, scyldan. See Shield, n.]
1. To cover with, or as with, a shield; to cover from danger;
to defend; to protect from assault or injury.
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Shouts of applause ran ringing through the field,
To see the son the vanquished father shield.
--Dryden.
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A woman's shape doth shield thee. --Shak.
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2. To ward off; to keep off or out.
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They brought with them their usual weeds, fit to
shield the cold to which they had been inured.
--Spenser.
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3. To avert, as a misfortune; hence, as a supplicatory
exclamation, forbid! [Obs.]
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God shield that it should so befall. --Chaucer.
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God shield I should disturb devotion! --Shak.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Shield \Shield\, n. [OE. sheld, scheld, AS. scield, scild,
sceld, scyld; akin to OS. scild, OFries. skeld, D. & G.
schild, OHG. scilt, Icel. skj["o]ldr, Sw. sk["o]ld, Dan.
skiold, Goth. skildus; of uncertain origin. Cf. Sheldrake.]
1. A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, --
formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the
body. See Buckler.
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Now put your shields before your hearts and fight,
With hearts more proof than shields. --Shak.
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2. Anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter;
protection. "My council is my shield." --Shak.
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3. Figuratively, one who protects or defends.
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Fear not, Abram; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
great reward. --Gen. xv. 1.
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4. (Bot.) In lichens, a Hardened cup or disk surrounded by a
rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
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5. (Her.) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the
bearings in coats of arms. Cf. Lozenge. See Illust. of
Escutcheon.
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6. (Mining & Tunneling) A framework used to protect workmen
in making an adit under ground, and capable of being
pushed along as excavation progresses.
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7. A spot resembling, or having the form of, a shield.
"Bespotted as with shields of red and black." --Spenser.
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8. A coin, the old French crown, or ['e]cu, having on one
side the figure of a shield. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Shield fern (Bot.), any fern of the genus Aspidium, in
which the fructifications are covered with shield-shaped
indusia; -- called also wood fern. See Illust. of
Indusium.
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