sori-; shrew

1. A reference to the shrew family Soricid[ae].
2. Like a shrew in form or habits; such as, the soricine bat.

1. A small mouse-like mammal with a long snout; related to moles.
2. A small nocturnal animal that resembles a mouse but is an insectivore, with velvety fur, a long pointed snout, and small eyes and ears.

Found worldwide, except New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand.

3. An offensive term for a woman who is regarded as quarrelsome, nagging, or ill-tempered.
4. Etymology: a "small mammal", Old English screawa "shrew-mouse"; unknown outside English.

An alternate Old English word for "shrew" was scirfemus, from sceorfan, "to gnaw".

The meaning "peevish, malignant, clamorous, spiteful, vexatious, turbulent woman" (Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language) is c.1386, from an earlier sense of "spiteful person" (male or female), c.1250; traditionally said to derive from some supposed malignant influence of the animal, which was once believed to have a venomous bite and was held in superstitious dread.

Shrewish with the meaning of "scolding" is from 1565, originally "wicked, evil" (1375).

"The Taming of the Shrew"

A play (1593-1594?) by English dramatist William Shakespeare which was then produced as a movie (1967) starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.

The central story of this play within a play is set in Verona, Italy, and describes Petruchio's attempts to win the wealthy but haughty and temperamental Katharina (the "shrew" of the title).

The protagonists make this a character study; as well as, a vociferous, or rowdy, farce. The expression "Kiss me, Kate" comes from Act II, scene i: "Kiss me, Kate, we will be married o' Sunday."

1. Characterized by keen awareness, sharp intelligence, and often a sense of the practical: Someone has said that shrewd investors should hold their stocks until prices increase again.
2. A tendency toward artful and cunning practices; tricky: The shrewd lender of money made it difficult for many people to repay their debts to him at a reasonable cost.
3. Astute or sharp in practical matters: The senator was a shrewd politician who was able to get many laws or legislative bills passed in congress.
4. Etymology: the term shrewd originally meant "wicked, dangerous". Its modern application as "astute" developed in the 16th century.

It was derived from shrew, "wicked man" and is generally believed to be from the same origin as the animal named the shrew which was originally thought to have a poisonous bite and was therefore feared as being wicked or bad.

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In a shrewd manner; referring to behaving mischievously or destructively.

1. The quality of being shrewd or having intelligence which is manifested by being astute; for example, as in business dealings, politics, etc.: "My cousin's shrewdness in buying a house just before property prices started to rise saved him a lot of money."
2. Possessing, or based on, a clear understanding and good judgment of a situation, resulting in an advantage: "Her shrewdness helped her make the right financial investments."
3. An aggregation, or group, of apes.

1. Continually complaining or faultfinding; such as, a shrewish wife.
2. A quarrelsome, ill-tempered disposition.

1. Peevishly; clamorously; turbulently.
2. In a shrewish manner.

A nature given to nagging or scolding.

The genus of shrews

Shrews.

Although they look like a long-nosed mouse, the shrews are not rodents and not closely related. The shrew family is part of the order Soricomorpha.

Shrews have feet with five clawed toes, unlike rodents, which have four. They should not to be confused with tree shrews, which belong to their own unrelated order, the Scandentia.

1. Having teeth like a shrew's.
2. Shrew teeth.

A reference to a shrew.

1. Of, belonging to, or resembling the shrews.
2. Shrewlike; of, like or pertaining to shrews.

A shrew mole of eastern Asia.