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Origin and history of sheer

sheer(adj.)

c. 1200, "exempt, free from guilt" (as in Sheer Thursday, the Thursday of Holy Week, the day before the Crucifixion); later schiere "thin, sparse" (c. 1400), a variant of skere, from late Old English scir "bright, clear, gleaming; translucent; pure, unmixed." The Middle English word might also be from or influenced by the Old Norse cognate scær "bright, clean, pure." Both of these are from Proto-Germanic *skeran (source also of Old Saxon skiri, Old Frisian skire, German schier, Gothic skeirs "clean, pure"), from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut."

The sense of "absolute, utter" (sheer nonsense) developed by 1580s, probably from the notion of "unmixed, uncombined with anything else;" that of "very steep, straight up and down" (a sheer cliff) is recorded from 1800, probably from notion of "continued without halting." Especially of textile fabrics, "diaphanous, very thin and delicate," from 1560s. As an adverb from c. 1600; also sheerly.

also from c. 1200

sheer(v.)

1620s, of a ship, "deviate from a line or course," a nautical word of obscure origin, perhaps from Dutch scheren "to move aside, withdraw, depart," originally "to separate" (see shear (v.)). In the general sense of "change one's course" by 1704. Related: Sheered; sheering. As a noun from 1660s.

also from 1620s

Entries linking to sheer

shear(v.)

Middle English sheren, "cut or clip, especially with a sharp instrument," from Old English sceran, scieran (class IV strong verb; past tense scear, past participle scoren; Middle English shorne) "to cleave, hew, cut with a sharp instrument; cut (the hair), shave (the beard), shear (a sheep)," from Proto-Germanic *skero "to cut" (source also of Old Norse and Old Frisian skera, Dutch scheren, German scheren "to shear"), from PIE root *sker- (1) "to cut." Related: Shorn; shearing.

Sherlock

masc. proper name, literally "fair-haired," from Old English scir "bright" (see sheer (adj.)) + locc "lock of hair" (see lock (n.2)). Slang for "private detective, perceptive person" (the latter often ironic) is attested by 1903, from A.C. Doyle's fictional character Sherlock Holmes (the character's full name in this sense was so used from 1896; Holmes debuted in 1887 and was popular by 1892).

*sker-(1)

also *ker-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to cut."

It might form all or part of: bias; carnage; carnal; carnation; carnival; carnivorous; carrion; cenacle; charcuterie; charnel; corium; cortex; crone; cuirass; currier; curt; decorticate; excoriate; incarnadine; incarnate; incarnation; kirtle; scabbard; scar (n.2) "bare and broken rocky face of a cliff or mountain;" scaramouche; scarf (n.2) "connecting joint;" scarp; score; scrabble; scrap (n.1) "small piece;" scrape; screen; screw; scrimmage; scrofula; scrub (n.1) "low, stunted tree;" scurf; shard; share (n.1) "portion;" share (n.2) "iron blade of a plow;" sharp; shear; shears; sheer (adj.) "absolute, utter;" shirt; shore (n.) "land bordering a large body of water;" short; shrub; skerry; skirmish; skirt.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit krnati "hurts, wounds, kills," krntati "cuts;" Hittite karsh- "to cut off;" Greek keirein "to cut, shear;" Latin curtus "short," caro (genitive carnis) "flesh" (originally "piece of flesh"); Lithuanian skiriu, skirti "to separate;" Old English sceran, scieran "to cleave, hew, cut with a sharp instrument;" Old Irish scaraim "I separate;" Welsh ysgar "to separate," ysgyr "fragment."