Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Shrew?

\Shrew\, a. [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. {Shrewd}.] Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
\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. A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men] have prosperity, or else that good men have adversity. --Chaucer. A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house for her. --L'Estrange. 2. [AS. scre['a]wa; -- so called because supposed to be venomous. ] (Zo["o]l.) Any small insectivore of the genus {Sorex} and several allied genera of the family {Sorecid[ae]}. In form and color they resemble mice, but they have a longer and more pointed nose. Some of them are the smallest of all mammals. Note: The common European species are the house shrew ({Crocidura araneus}), and the erd shrew ({Sorex vulgaris}) (see under {Erd}.). In the United States several species of {Sorex} and {Blarina} are common, as the broadnosed shrew ({S. platyrhinus}), Cooper's shrew ({S. Cooperi}), and the short-tailed, or mole, shrew ({Blarina brevicauda}). Th American water, or marsh, shrew ({Neosorex palustris}), with fringed feet, is less common. The common European water shrews are {Crossopus fodiens}, and the oared shrew (see under {Oared}). {Earth shrew}, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family {Centetid[ae]}, as the tendrac. {Elephant shrew}, {Jumping shrew}, {Mole shrew}. See under {Elephant}, {Jumping}, etc. {Musk shrew}. See {Desman}. {River shrew}, an aquatic West African insectivore ({Potamogale velox}) resembling a weasel in form and size, but having a large flattened and crested tail adapted for rapid swimming. It feeds on fishes. {Shrew mole}, a common large North American mole ({Scalops aquaticus}). Its fine, soft fur is gray with iridescent purple tints.
\Shrew\, v. t. [See {Shrew}, a., and cf. {Beshrew}.] To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] ``I shrew myself.'' --Chaucer.