ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shield

n. · v.
US //ˈʃiɫd// UK //ʃˈiːld// shield
  1. 1 protective equipment (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    a piece of equipment used to stop someone or something from hurting you.

    a broad piece of defensive armour carried on the arm; by extension, any physical barrier designed to intercept or deflect attacks.

    Example

    The knight held up his wooden shield to block the arrows.

    Example

    Riot police formed a wall with their transparent shields to prevent the protesters from advancing toward the government building.
  2. 2 a shape (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a shape that looks like a triangle with curved sides, often used for police badges or logos.

    a heraldic or geometric shape resembling a traditional shield, typically an inverted triangle with curved sides.

    Example

    The school's logo is a blue shield with a gold book in the middle.

    Example

    The family's coat of arms was meticulously engraved upon a silver shield, displayed prominently above the fireplace in the Great Hall.
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  1. 3 geological formation (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a very large, flat area of very old, hard rock.

    a large area of exposed Precambrian crystalline igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks that form tectonically stable areas.

    Example

    The Canadian Shield covers a huge part of North America.

    Example

    The geological survey focused on the edge of the shield, where the ancient stable rock meets younger sedimentary layers.
    • craton
  2. 4 to protect (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    to protect someone or something from something dangerous or unpleasant.

    to protect or hide someone or something from danger, criticism, or unpleasant influences.

    Example

    She used her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun.

    Example

    The thick concrete walls were designed to shield the laboratory equipment from external electromagnetic interference.
  3. 5 to stay home for health (v.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate British English Medicine

    to stay at home to protect yourself from a disease because you are at high risk.

    to practice extreme social distancing by remaining indoors to avoid contracting a communicable disease.

    Example

    During the pandemic, my grandfather had to shield for several months.

    Example

    Public health officials advised vulnerable citizens to continue shielding until the local infection rates had dropped significantly.

    Usage

    Often used as an intransitive verb in the context of public health.
Etymology 1

From Middle English scheld, shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-West Germanic skeldu, from Proto-Germanic skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“cut, split”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian skyld (“shield”), Bavarian Schuid (“shield”), Dutch schild (“shield”), German and Low German Schild (“shield”), Luxembourgish Schëld (“shield”), Yiddish שילד (shild, “shield”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skjold (“shield”), Elfdalian stjöld (“shield”), Faroese skjøldur (“shield”), Gutnish skiåld (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”), Swedish sköld (“shield”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skildus, “shield”). Compare Breton skoed (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Scottish Gaelic sgiath (“shield”), Latin scūtum (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”), Belarusian шчыт (ščyt, “shield”), Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian щит (ščyt, “shield”), Czech and Slovak štít (“shield”), Macedonian штит (štit, “shield”), Polish szczyt (“shield”), Serbo-Croatian штит, štit, ščit (“shield”), Slovene ščit (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English shelden, from Old English scildan.

Word family

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