from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Shard \Shard\ (sh[aum]rd), n. [AS. sceard, properly a p. p. from
the root of scearn to shear, to cut; akin to D. schaard a
fragment, G. scharte a notch, Icel. skar[eth]. See {Shear},
and cf. {Sherd}.] [Written also {sheard}, and {sherd}.]
1. A piece or fragment of an earthen vessel, or a like
brittle substance, as the shell of an egg or snail.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The precious dish
Broke into shards of beauty on the board. --E.
Arnold.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Zool.) The hard wing case of a beetle.
[1913 Webster]
They are his shards, and he their beetle. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. A gap in a fence. [Obs.] --Stanyhurst.
[1913 Webster]
4. A boundary; a division. [Obs. & R.] --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]