sheer

English

/ˈʃɪə/, /ʃɪɹ/

adj
Definitions
  • (textiles) Very thin or transparent.
  • (obsolete) Pure in composition; unmixed; unadulterated.
  • (by extension) Downright; complete; pure.
  • Very steep; almost vertical or perpendicular.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English shere inherited from Old English sċǣre inherited from Middle English schyre (fair, bright, pure) inherited from Old English sċīr (bright, shire, county, shining, splendid, gleaming, brilliant, resplendent, pure, clear) inherited from Middle English skyr derived from Old Norse skírr (clear, pure, bright) inherited from Proto-Germanic *skīriz (pure, bright, sheer) derived from Proto-Indo-European *sḱēy- (gloss, shadow, luster).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*sḱēy-

Gloss

gloss, shadow, luster

Concept
Semantic Field

The physical world

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

陰, 影

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms