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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Shift \Shift\ (sh[i^]ft), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Shifted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Shifting}.] [OE. shiften, schiften, to divide, change, remove. AS. sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & D. schiften to divide, distinguish, part Icel. skipta to divide, to part, to shift, to change, Dan skifte, Sw. skifta, and probably to Icel. sk[=i]fa to cut into slices, as n., a slice, and to E. shive, sheave, noun, shiver, noun]
1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]
To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of flowers well smelling. --Chaucer.
2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to another; to shift the blame.
Hastily he schifte him[self]. --Piers Plowman.
Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set or go shift it that knowest the ways. --Tusser.
3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.
Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and thither at pleasure. --Sir W. Raleigh.
4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.
I would advise you to shift a shirt. --Shak.
5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]
As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to have patience to shift me. --Shak.
6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. ''I shifted him away.'' --Shak.
{To shift off}, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside.
{To shift the scene}, to change the locality or the surroundings, as in a play or a story.
Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are in thy power. --Swift.
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |