It was upon an Indian bill that the late ministry had made
shipwreck.
J. Morley.
Ship"wreck`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shipwrecked (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Shipwrecking.] 1. To destroy, as a ship at sea, by running ashore or on
rocks or sandbanks, or by the force of wind and waves in a tempest.
Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break.
Shak.
2. To cause to experience shipwreck, as sailors or passengers. Hence,
to cause to suffer some disaster or loss; to destroy or ruin, as if by
shipwreck; to wreck; as, to shipwreck a business. Addison.
Ship"wright` (?), n. One whose occupation is to construct ships; a
builder of ships or other vessels.
Ship"yard` (?), n. A yard, place, or inclosure where ships are built or
repaired.
Shi*raz" (?), n. A kind of Persian wine; -- so called from the place
whence it is brought.
Shire (?), n. [AS. scre, scr, a division, province, county. Cf.
Sheriff.] 1. A portion of Great Britain originally under the
supervision of an earl; a territorial division, usually identical with
a county, but sometimes limited to a smaller district; as, Wiltshire,
Yorkshire, Richmondshire, Hallamshire.
An indefinite number of these hundreds make up a county or shire.
Blackstone.
2. A division of a State, embracing several contiguous townships; a
county. [U. S.]
Shire is commonly added to the specific designation of a county as a
part of its name; as, Yorkshire instead of York shire, or the shire of
York; Berkshire instead of Berks shire. Such expressions as the county
of Yorkshire, which in a strict sense are tautological, are used in
England. In the United States the composite word is sometimes the only
name of a county; as, Berkshire county, as it is called in
Massachusetts, instead of Berks county, as in Pensylvania.
The Tyne, Tees, Humber, Wash, Yare, Stour, and Thames separate the
counties of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, etc.
Encyc. Brit.
Knight of the shire. See under Knight. -- Shire clerk, an officer of a
county court; also, an under sheriff. [Eng.] -- Shire mote (Old. Eng.
Law), the county court; sheriff's turn, or court. [Obs.] Cowell.
Blackstone. -- Shire reeve (Old Eng. Law), the reeve, or bailiff, of a
shire; a sheriff. Burrill. -- Shire town, the capital town of a county;
a county town. -- Shire wick, a county; a shire. [Obs.] Holland.
Shirk (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Shirked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Shirking.]
[Probably the same word as shark. See Shark, v. t.] 1. To procure by
petty fraud and trickery; to obtain by mean solicitation.
You that never heard the call of any vocation, . . . that shirk
living from others, but time from Yourselves.
Bp. Rainbow.
2. To avoid; to escape; to neglect; -- implying unfaithfulness or
fraud; as, to shirk duty.
The usual makeshift by which they try to shirk difficulties.
Hare.
Shirk, v. i. 1. To live by shifts and fraud; to shark.
2. To evade an obligation; to avoid the performance of duty, as by
running away.
One of the cities shirked from the league.
Byron.
Shirk, n. One who lives by shifts and tricks; one who avoids the
performance of duty or labor.
Shirk"er (?), n. One who shirks. Macaulay.