shelter
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English sheltron, sheldtrume (“roof or wall formed by locked shields”), from Old English sċildtruma, sċyldtruma (“a phalanx, company (of troops), a tortoise, a covering, shed, shelter”, literally “shield-troop”), from sċyld, sċield (“shield”) truma (“a troop of soldiers”). Cognate with Scots schilthrum, schiltrum. More at shield, and Old English trymman (“to strengthen”), from trum (“strong, firm”) at trim.
Pronunciation
edit- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈʃɛltə/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈʃɛltɚ/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɛltə(ɹ)
- Homophone: Shelta (non-rhotic)
Noun
editshelter (plural shelters)
- A refuge, haven or other cover or protection from something.
- 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 7, in Well Tackled![1]:
- The detective kept them in view. He made his way casually along the inside of the shelter until he reached an open scuttle close to where the two men were standing talking. Eavesdropping was not a thing Larard would have practised from choice, but there were times when, in the public interest, he had to do it, and this was one of them.
- An institution that provides temporary housing for homeless people, battered women, etc.
Derived terms
edit- Adirondack shelter
- air-raid shelter
- Anderson shelter
- animal shelter
- bomb shelter
- bus shelter
- fallout shelter
- fall-out shelter
- homeless shelter
- kill shelter
- Morrison shelter
- night shelter
- no-kill shelter
- rock shelter
- shelter belt
- shelter deck
- shelter dog
- shelter half
- shelter-half
- shelter in place
- shelter-in-place
- shelter tent
- tax shelter
- tornado shelter
- typhoon shelter
- waiting shelter
- women's shelter
Translations
edita refuge or other protection
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institution
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Verb
editshelter (third-person singular simple present shelters, present participle sheltering, simple past and past participle sheltered)
- (transitive) To provide cover from damage or harassment; to shield; to protect.
- 1663, John Dryden, Epistle to Dr. Charleton:
- Those ruins sheltered once his sacred head.
- 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society:
- You have no convents […] in which such persons may be received and sheltered.
- (intransitive) To take cover.
- During the rainstorm, we sheltered under a tree.
Translations
edittransitive, to provide cover
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intransitive, to take cover
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Anagrams
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- Rhymes:English/ɛltə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/ɛltə(ɹ)/2 syllables
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- en:Buildings and structures
- en:Housing