sharker

[Eng. shark, v.; -er.] One who lives by mean or dishonest practices; a shark. [SHARK, 8., I. 2. (2).] "A dirty sharker about the Romish court, who only scribbles that he may dine." -Wotton : Letter to M. Vel ser us . sharp sharn, subst . [A. S. scearn; Icel. skarn =dung, dirt.] The dung of oxen or cows. ( Scotch .) shar-ock, s . [Native name.} A silver coin in India, worth about 1s. sterling, or 24 cents. sharp, *scharp, adj ., adv. & 8. [A. S. scearp ; cogn. with Dut. scherp ; Icel. skarpr ; Dan. & Sw. skarp ; Ger.scharf. From the same root as Latin scalpo , sculpo = to cut: Eng. sculpture , scorpion , scarp .] A. As adjective: I. Ordinary Language: 1. Having a keen edge or fine point; keen, acute; not blunt. "Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs like a sharp razor, working deceitfully."- Psalm lii. 2. 2. Terminating on a point or edge; ridged, peaked; not obtuse. "It is so much the firmer, by how much broader the bottom, and sharper the top."- Temple . 3. Very thin; lean, emaciated. "His nose was as sharp as a pen."- Shakesp.: Henry V., ii. 3. 4. Gritty, hard; having fine edges. "They make use of the sharpest sand, that being best for mortar to lay bricks and tiles in."- Moxon : Mechan. ical Exercises . 5. Abruptly turned; bent at an acute angle; not obtuse; as, a sharp corner. 6. Biting, piercing, pinching, bitter, bracing. "The night was winter in its roughest mood, The morning sharp and clear." Cowper: Task , vi. 58. 7. Severe, afflictive, hard, cruel, painful. "To keep the sharp woes waking." Shakesp.: Rape of Lucrece, 1,136. 8. Hard, severe, stern; not lenient; as, a sharp sentence. 9. Acute of mind; penetrating; quick to discern or distinguish; clever, witty, ingenious, shrewd, subtle, inventive. "There is nothing makes men sharper , and sets their heads and wits more at work, than want."- Add is on : On Italy . 10. Subtle, witty; marked by shrewdne or clev erne . "Voluble and sharp discourse." Shakesp.: Comedy of Errors , ii. 1. 11. Keen, acrimonious, severe, harsh, biting, cutting. "The admonitions which he addre ed to the king him. self were very sharp , and, what Charles disliked still more, very long." -Macaulay: Hist . Eng ., ch. ii. 12. Keenly awake or alive to one's own interests; keen or shrewd in making bargains or in exacting one's dues; ready to take advantage of others. 13. Characterized by koenne ; barely honest or honorable; as, sharp practices. 14. Severely rigid; harsh, strict, cruel. "The sharpest kind of justice." IMG:content-1315.png:[blocks in formation] (1) Raised a semitone, as a note. (2) Shrill or acute, as the sharp mixture = an organ stop of a shrill or acute character. [MIXTURE, 8., II. 2.] (3) Out of tune by being higher in pitch than is just. (4) Applied by old writes to an augmented interval. 2. Phonetics: Applied to a consonant pronounced or uttered with breath and not with voice; surd, non-vocal; as, the sharp mutes, p , t , k . pine, pit, sire, sir, marine; gō, pot, IMG:content-1316.png:[blocks in formation] II. Technically: 1. Music: (1) A note artificially raised a semitone. (2) The sign() which raises a note one semitone above the normal or natural scale. A note so affected is restored to its normal pitch by the use of a natural. In old music sharps were often used to raise notes which had been previously flattened, for which purpose a natural is always now used. When placed on a line or space of the staff at the commencement of a movement, it raises all the notes on that line or space, or their octaves a semitone; if placed before a note in the course of a movement, it raises that note or the repetition of it a semitone, but only within the same bar. A double-sharp (X) is used in chromatic music to raise a note two semitones above its natural pitch. 2. Phonetics: A sharp consonant. [A. ΙΙ. 2.] Sharp is often used in compounds, the meanings being in most cases sufficiently obvious, as sharp-cornered, sharp - edged , sharp - pointed , . sharp-angled, a. Having sharp angles. The Sharp-angled Carpet is Melanippe unangu lat a , and the Sharp-angled Peacock, Macaria aller nat a , both geometer moths. sharp-cedar, 8. Bot.: (1) Acacia oxycedrus; (2) Juniper us oxy cedrus.