shear

Everyday

1. To shear a sheep is to cut off its wool. tree →
2. To shear can mean to cut or break something off, often by a strong sideways force: the bolt sheared off. tree →
3. Shears (plural) are large scissors for cutting hedges, grass or wool. tree →
4. (science) Shear is a force that pushes parts of something sideways in opposite directions, like rubbing your hands together. tree →

In the lessons

Farming and everyday life: sheep shearing happens in spring in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and Ireland; shearers can shear hundreds of sheep a day. Gardening: hedge shears. Science and engineering: shear forces can snap bolts or make rocks slide in an earthquake; «wind shear» is dangerous for planes.

Examples

• The farmer will shear the sheep in spring. tree →
• The sheep looked tiny after it was shorn. tree →
• Grandpa trims the hedge with garden shears. tree →
• The strong wind sheared a branch off the tree. tree →
• Sheep shearing is a big sport in New Zealand. tree →
• In science we learned how shear forces break things. tree →
• The shearers worked fast all day. tree →

Note

Homophone trap: «shear» (cut) sounds like «sheer» (very steep; complete; see-through, as in sheer curtains). Past participle: shorn (for sheep or hair) or sheared (for metal). «Shears» is plural like «scissors»: «a pair of shears».

In Jewish tradition

To shear is to cut the wool off sheep. In Isaiah it also appears inside a name: Shear-jashub, Isaiah's son, which means "a remnant shall return."

Interpretation. The law not to shear a firstling animal teaches that it is holy to God and cannot be used for the owner's profit. The name Shear-jashub is read as a promise that some of Israel will come back to God.

Examples

• Now Laban was gone to shear his sheep. (Torah GEN.31.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• And it was told Tamar, saying: 'Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep.' (Torah GEN.38.13, JPS 1917) tree →
• All the firstling males that are born of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thine ox, nor shear the firstling of thy flock. (Torah DEU.15.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• Then said the LORD unto Isaiah: 'Go forth now to meet Ahaz, thou, and Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, in the highway of the fullers' field; (Prophets ISA.7.3, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Homophone trap: «shear» (cut) sounds like «sheer» (very steep; complete; see-through, as in sheer curtains). Past participle: shorn (for sheep or hair) or sheared (for metal). «Shears» is plural like «scissors»: «a pair of shears».