Shrew , v. t. [See Shrew, a., and cf. Beshrew.]
To beshrew; to curse. [Obs.] "I shrew myself." Chaucer.
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.
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. [AS. screáwa; -- so called because supposed to be venomous. ] (Zoöl.)
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.
&fist; 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 (?), a. [OE.
shrewe, schrewe. Cf. Shrewd.]
Wicked;
malicious. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Hear it pronounced