SHREW
shrew, shrewmouse
(noun) small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles
shrew, termagant
(noun) a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
shrew (plural shrews)
Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae (order Soricomorpha).
Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews (order Soricomorpha).
(pejorative) An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.
Synonyms
• (mouselike mammal): ranny (obsolete)
• (nagging woman): See Thesaurus:shrew
Hyponyms
• (mouselike mammal): common shrew
Etymology 2
Verb
shrew (third-person singular simple present shrews, present participle shrewing, simple past and past participle shrewed)
(obsolete, transitive) To beshrew; to curse.
Anagrams
• Rhews, wersh
Source: Wiktionary
Shrew, a. Etym: [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. Shrewd.]
Definition: Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Shrew, n. Etym: [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. Etym: [AS. screáwa; -- so called because supposed to be venomous.
] (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any small insectivore of the genus Sorex and several allied
genera of the family Sorecidæ. 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 Centetidæ, 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. Etym: [See Shrew, a., and cf. Beshrew.]
Definition: To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] "I shrew myself." Chaucer.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition