SCREED

screed

(noun) an accurately levelled strip of material placed on a wall or floor as guide for the even application of plaster or concrete

screed

(noun) a long piece of writing

screed

(noun) a long monotonous harangue

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

screed (plural screeds)

(chiefly, Ireland, Newfoundland, Scotland, dated) A piece or narrow strip cut or torn off from a larger whole; a shred. [from mid 14th c.]

Synonym: scrid

(chiefly, regional Britain, Scotland, dated) A piece of land, especially one that is narrow.

(chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) A rent, a tear.

Synonyms: cut, rip

A piece of writing (such as an article, letter, or list) or a speech, especially if long.

(by extension) A speech or piece of writing which contains angry and extended criticism; a diatribe, a harangue. [from late 18th c.]

Synonyms: polemic, rant, tirade

Chiefly in the plural form screeds: a large quantity.

(construction, masonry) Senses relating to building construction and masonry.

A tool, usually a long strip of wood or other material, placed on a floor to be covered with concrete, a wall to be plastered, etc, as a guide for producing a smooth, flat surface.

A tool such as a long strip of wood or other material which is drawn over a wet layer of concrete, plaster, etc, to make it smooth and flat; also, a machine that achieves this effect; a screeder.

Synonym: strickle

A smooth, flat layer of concrete, plaster, or similar material, especially if acting as a base for paving stones, tiles, wooden planks, etc.

Etymology 2

Verb

screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded)

(transitive, chiefly, Northern England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, dated) To rend, to shred, to tear.

Synonyms: cut, rip

(transitive, Scotland, also, figurative, dated) To read or repeat from memory fluently or glibly; to reel off.

(transitive, construction, masonry) To use a screed to produce a smooth, flat surface of concrete, plaster, or similar material; also (generally) to put down a layer of concrete, plaster, etc.

(intransitive, Scotland) To become rent or torn.

Etymology 3

Noun

screed (plural screeds) (Northern Ireland, Scotland)

(chiefly, humorous) A (discordant) sound or tune played on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.

The sound of something scratching or tearing.

Verb

screed (third-person singular simple present screeds, present participle screeding, simple past and past participle screeded) (Northern Ireland, Scotland, rare)

(intransitive, chiefly, humorous) To play bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.

(intransitive) To make a discordant or harsh scratching or tearing sound.

(transitive, chiefly, humorous, obsolete) To play (a sound or tune) on bagpipes, a fiddle, or a pipe.

Etymology 4

Adjective

screed (not comparable)

Strewn with scree.

Anagrams

• Creeds, ceders, creeds

Source: Wiktionary


Screed, n. Etym: [Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred.]

1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed, as a limit for the thickness of the coat.

2. A fragment; a portion; a shred. [Scot.]

Screed, n. Etym: [See 1st Screed. For sense 2 cf. also Gael. sgread an outcry.]

1. A breach or rent; a breaking forth into a loud, shrill sound; as, martial screeds.

2. An harangue; a long tirade on any subject. The old carl gae them a screed of doctrine; ye might have heard him a mile down the wind. Sir W. Scott.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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