AskDefine | Define shield

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Dictionary Definition

shield

Noun

1 a protective covering or structure
2 armor carried on the arm to intercept blows [syn: buckler]

Verb

1 protect, hide, or conceal from danger or harm [syn: screen]
2 hold back a thought or feeling about; "She is harboring a grudge against him" [syn: harbor, harbour]

User Contributed Dictionary

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From etyl ang scield.

Noun

  1. In the context of "armor": A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
  2. Anything which protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
  3. Figuratively, one who protects or defends.
    • 1611: Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. The Holy Bible, King James Version, Genesis 15:1.
  4. In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
  5. The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms.
  6. A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
  7. A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.
  8. A spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
    Bespotted as with shields of red and black. Spenser.
  9. A coin, the old French crown, or écu, having on one side the figure of a shield.
  10. A field of energy which protects or defends.
  11. colloquial law enforcement A police badge
  12. A sign or symbol, usually containing numbers and sometimes letters, identifying a highway route.
Hyponyms
Translations
armor
  • Albanian: mburojë
  • Arabic: ترْس
  • Breton: skoed
  • Catalan: escut
  • Chinese: (dùn)
  • Croatian: štit
  • Czech: štít
  • Danish: skjold
  • Dutch: schild
  • Finnish: kilpi
  • French: écu
  • German: Schild
  • Greek: ασπίδα
  • trreq Hebrew
  • Hungarian: pajzs
  • Icelandic: m
  • Italian: scudo
  • Japanese: 盾 (たて, tate)
  • Latin: scutum
  • Nahuatl: chimal
  • Norwegian: skjold
  • Old Norse: m
  • Polish: tarcza
  • Portuguese: escudo
  • Romanian: scut
  • Russian: щит
  • Scottish Gaelic: sgiath
  • Slovenian: ščit
  • Spanish: escudo
  • Swahili: ngao (noun 9/10)
  • Swedish: sköld
  • Turkish: kalkan
anything which protects or defends
figuratively, one who protects or defends
  • Croatian: štit
  • Czech: štít
  • Dutch: beschermer, beschermster
  • Greek: ασπίδα
heraldry
  • Dutch: wapenschild
  • Russian: щит
mining
  • Russian: щит
a spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
obsolete: a coin, the old French crown, or écu
sci fi: an field of energy which protects or defends
  • Croatian: štit
  • Dutch: schild , scherm
  • Greek: ασπίδα
  • Russian: щит
colloquial: a police badge
  • Dutch: badge, penning
transportation: a sign or symbol identifying a highway route.

Etymology 2

From scieldan.

Verb

  1. To protect, to defend.
    • 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
      Shots rang out and a 15-year-old boy, shielding a woman from the line of fire, was killed.
  2. to protect from the influence of
Translations
to protect, to defend
electricity: to protect from the influence of

Extensive Definition

A shield is a protective device, meant to intercept attacks. The term often refers to a device that is held in the hand, as opposed to armour or a bullet proof vest.

Prehistoric and Antiquity

The oldest form of shield was a protection used to block attacks by hand weapons, such as swords, axes and maces or missiles like spears and arrows. Shields have varied greatly in construction over time and place. Sometimes shields were made of metal, but wood or animal hide construction was much more common; wicker and even turtle shells have been used. Many surviving examples of metal shields are generally felt to be ceremonial rather than practical, for example the Yetholm-type shields of the Bronze Age or the Iron Age Battersea shield.
Size and weight varied greatly, lightly armored warriors relying on speed and surprise would generally carry light shields that were either small or thin. Heavy troops might be equipped with large heavy shields that could protect most of the body. Many had a strap called a guige that allowed it to be slung over the user's back when not in use or on horseback. During the 14th-13th century BCE, the Sards or Shardana, working as mercenaries for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, utilized either large or small round shields against the Hittites. The Ancient Greek hoplites used a round, bowl-shaped wooden shield called an aspis. Examples of German wooden shields c350 BC - 500 AD survive from Weapons sacrifices in Danish bogs. Free standing shields called pavises were used by medieval crossbowmen who needed protection while reloading.
The heavily armored Roman legionaries carried large shields (scuta) that could provide far more protection, but made swift movement a little more difficult. The scutum originally had an oval shape, but gradually the curved tops and sides were cut to produce the familiar rectangular shape most commonly seen in the early Imperial legions. Famously, the Romans used their shields to create a tortoise-like formation called a testudo in which entire groups of soldiers would be enclosed in an armoured box to provide protection against missiles.
Many ancient shield designs featured incuts of one sort of another. This was done to accommodate the shaft of a spear, thus facilitating tactics requiring the soldiers to stand close together forming a wall of shields.

Middle Ages

In the early European Middle Ages kite shields were commonly used; these were rounded at the top and tapered at the bottom. They were easily used on horseback and allowed easier leg movement when dismounted. As personal body armour improved, knight's shields became smaller, leading to the familiar heater shield style. Both kite and heater style shields were made of several layers of laminated wood, with a gentle curve in cross section. The heater style inspired the shape of the symbolic heraldic shield that is still used today. Eventually, specialised shapes were developed such as the bouche — which had a lance rest cut into the upper corner of the lance side, to help guide it in combat or tournament.
In time, some armoured foot knights gave up shields entirely in favour of mobility and two-handed weapons. Other knights and common soldiers adopted the buckler (origin of the term "swashbuckler"http://www.hadesign.co.uk/SRS/html/buckler.htm). The buckler is a small round shield, typically between 8 and 16 inches in diameter. The buckler was one of very few types of shield that was usually made of metal. Small and light, the buckler was easily carried by being hung from a belt; it gave little protection from missiles and was reserved for hand-to-hand combat. The buckler continued in use well into the 16th century.
In Italy, the targa, parma and rotella were utilized by common people, fencers and even knights.
The development of plate armour made shields less and less common as plate armour eliminated the need for a shield. Lightly armoured troops continued to use shields after men-at-arms and knights ceased to use them. Shields continued in use even after gunpowder powered weapons made them essentially obsolete on the battlefield. In the 18th century, the Scottish clans used a small, round shield called a targe that was partially effective against the firearms of the time although it was arguably more often used against British infantry bayonets and cavalry swords in close-in fighting.
In the 19th century, non-industrial cultures with little access to guns were still using shields. Zulu warriors carried large lightweight shields made from a single ox hide supported by a wooden spine, these were called Ishlangu. http://www.rrtraders.com/Shields/zuluw.htm This was used in combination with a short spear (assegai) and/or club.

Modern Shields

Shields for protection from armed attack are still used by many police forces around the world. These modern shields are usually intended for two broadly distinct purposes.
The first type are used for riot control and can be made from metal or synthetics, such as Lexan or Mylar. These typically offer protection from relatively large and low velocity projectiles, such as rocks and bottles as well as blows from fists or clubs. Synthetic riot shields are normally transparent, allowing full use of the shield without obstructing vision. Similarly, metal riot shields often have a small window at eye level for this purpose. These riot shields are most commonly used to block and push back crowds when the users stand in a wall, and to protect against shrapnel, projectiles, molotov cocktails and during hand-to-hand combat.
The second type of modern police shield is typically manufactured from advanced synthetics such as kevlar and are designed to be bulletproof, or at least bullet resistant. These are typically employed by specialist police, such as SWAT teams, in high risk entry and siege scenarios, but are also used on a daily basis in many areas of the US.
Many non-martial devices also employ shielding of a kind--not usually a single device worn on an arm but various protective plates or other insulation positioned where needed. Space craft have heat shields to ensure a safe re-entry. Electronics uses shielding to reduce electrical noise and crosstalk between signals. People and systems that must work in the presence of ionizing radiation are protected with shielding.
Science fiction writers have imagined many futuristic protections they often call "shields," usually using force fields. These include personal shields, as in the Dune series, or larger ones for spacecraft as in Star Trek. See Energy shield for more.

References

Literature

  • Schulze, André(Hrsg.): Mittelalterliche Kampfesweisen. Band 2: Kriegshammer, Schild und Kolben. - Mainz am Rhein. : Zabern, 2007. - ISBN 3-8053-3736-1

External links

shield in Bulgarian: Щит
shield in Catalan: Escut (arma)
shield in Czech: Štít
shield in Danish: Skjold
shield in German: Schild (Waffe)
shield in Estonian: Kilp
shield in Modern Greek (1453-): Ασπίδα
shield in Spanish: Escudo
shield in French: Bouclier (arme)
shield in Korean: 방패
shield in Ido: Shildo
shield in Indonesian: Perisai
shield in Italian: Scudo (difesa)
shield in Hebrew: מגן
shield in Lithuanian: Skydas
shield in Lingala: Nguba
shield in Hungarian: Pajzs
shield in Dutch: Schild (bescherming)
shield in Japanese: 盾
shield in Norwegian: Skjold (beskyttelse)
shield in Polish: Tarcza (uzbrojenie)
shield in Portuguese: Escudo
shield in Romanian: Scut
shield in Quechua: Wallqanqa
shield in Russian: Щит
shield in Simple English: Shield
shield in Slovak: Štít (vojenstvo)
shield in Slovenian: Ščit
shield in Serbian: Штит
shield in Finnish: Kilpi
shield in Swedish: Sköld
shield in Tajik: Сипар
shield in Turkish: Kalkan (silah)
shield in Ukrainian: Щит
shield in Chinese: 盾

Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words

achievement, advocate, aegis, alerion, animal charge, annulet, apply to, argent, arm, arm guard, armament, armature, armor, armor plate, armorial bearings, armory, arms, azure, backstop, bandeau, bar, bar sinister, baton, bearings, bend, bend sinister, billet, blanket, blazon, blazonry, bless, block, body armor, bordure, broad arrow, buckler, buffer, bulletproof vest, bulwark, bumper, cadency mark, canopy, canton, chain armor, chain mail, chamber, champion, chaplet, charge, chevron, chief, chitin, cloak, clothe, cloud, coat, coat of arms, coat of mail, cockatrice, compass about, contraceptive, cope, copyright, coronet, cortex, cover, cover up, coverage, covering, covert, coverture, cowl, cowling, crash helmet, crescent, crest, cross, cross moline, crown, curtain, cushion, dashboard, defence, defend, device, difference, differencing, dodger, drape, drapery, eagle, eclipse, elytron, ensure, episperm, ermine, ermines, erminites, erminois, escutcheon, face mask, falcon, fence, fend, fender, fess, fess point, field, file, film, finger guard, flanch, flank, fleur-de-lis, foot guard, fret, fur, fuse, fusil, garland, goggles, governor, griffin, guarantee, guard, guard against, guardrail, guise, gules, gyron, habergeon, hand guard, handrail, hanging, harbor, hard hat, harness, hatchment, hauberk, haven, helmet, heraldic device, honor point, hood, house, housing, impalement, impaling, inescutcheon, insulation, insure, interlock, keep, keep from harm, knee guard, knuckle guard, label, laminated glass, lay on, lay over, life preserver, lifeline, lightning conductor, lightning rod, lion, lorica, lorication, lozenge, mail, make safe, mantle, mantling, marshaling, martlet, mascle, mask, metal, motto, mudguard, muffle, mullet, needles, nestle, nombril point, nose guard, obduce, obscure, occult, octofoil, or, ordinary, orle, overlay, overspread, pad, padding, pale, pall, palladium, paly, panoply, patent, pean, pericarp, pheon, pilot, plate, plate armor, police, preventive, prophylactic, protect, protection, protective clothing, protective covering, protective umbrella, purpure, put on, quarter, quartering, register, ride shotgun for, roof, rose, sable, safeguard, safety, safety glass, safety plug, safety rail, safety shoes, safety switch, safety valve, saltire, screen, scum, scutcheon, scute, scutum, seat belt, secure, security, shell, shelter, shin guard, shroud, spines, spread eagle, spread over, subordinary, suit of armor, sun helmet, superimpose, superpose, tenne, test, testa, thick skin, tincture, torse, tressure, umbrella, underwrite, unicorn, vair, veil, vert, vestment, ward, windscreen, windshield, wreath, yale
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