shrew

shrew
    n 1: a scolding nagging bad-tempered woman [syn: {shrew},
         {termagant}]
    2: small mouselike mammal with a long snout; related to moles
       [syn: {shrew}, {shrewmouse}]
    

Shrew \Shrew\, v. t. [See {Shrew}, a., and cf. {Beshrew}.]
   To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] "I shrew myself." --Chaucer.
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Shrew \Shrew\, a. [OE. shrewe, schrewe. Cf. {Shrewd}.]
   Wicked; malicious. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Shrew \Shrew\, n. [See {Shrew}, a.]
   1. Originally, a brawling, turbulent, vexatious person of
      either sex, but now restricted in use to females; a
      brawler; a scold.
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            A man . . . grudgeth that shrews [i. e., bad men]
            have prosperity, or else that good men have
            adversity.                            --Chaucer.
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            A man had got a shrew to his wife, and there could
            be no quiet in the house for her.     --L'Estrange.
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   2. [AS. scre['a]wa; -- so called because supposed to be
      venomous. ] (Zool.) Any small insectivore of the genus
      {Sorex} and several allied genera of the family
      {Sorecidae}. 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.
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   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 ({Sorex platyrhinus}), Cooper's
         shrew ({Sorex 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}).
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   {Earth shrew}, any shrewlike burrowing animal of the family
      {Centetidae}, 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.
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30 Moby Thesaurus words for "shrew":
      Chiroptera, Lagomorpha, Primates, Rodentia, Xanthippe, amazon,
      banshee, battle-ax, beldam, bitch, cat, common scold, crone,
      dragon, fishwife, fury, hag, harpy, harridan, nag, ogress, scold,
      she-devil, she-wolf, spitfire, termagant, tigress, virago, vixen,
      witch