shrew

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

SHREW, noun 1. A peevish, brawling, turbulent, vexatious woman. It appears to have originally been applied to males as well as females; but is now restricted to the latter. The man had got a shrew for his wife, and there could be no quiet in the house with her. L'Estrange. 2. A shrew-mouse. SHREW, verb transitive To beshrew; to curse. Obs.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

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