# shield

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈʃiːld/ · frequency rank #4,333

## Definitions
1. Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
2. Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
3. Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
4. Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
5. Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
6. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
7. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
8. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
9. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
10. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
11. A shape like that of a shield; usually, an inverted triangle with sides that curve inward to form a pointed bottom, commonly used for police identifications and company logos.
12. A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
13. A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
14. A place with a toilet seat: an outhouse; a lavatory.
15. Parts at the front and back of a vehicle which are meant to absorb the impact of a collision

## Etymology
From Middle English scheld, shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeldu, from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“cut, split”).
Cognates
Cognate with West Frisian skyld (“shield”), Bavarian Schuid (“shield”), Dutch schild (“shield”), German and Low German Schild (“shield”), Luxembourgish Schëld (“shield”), Yiddish שילד (shild, “shield”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk skjold (“shield”), Elfdalian stjöld (“shield”), Faroese skjøldur (“shield”), Gutnish skiåld (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”), Swedish sköld (“shield”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skildus, “shield”). Compare Breton skoed (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Scottish Gaelic sgiath (“shield”), Latin scūtum (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”), Belarusian шчыт (ščyt, “shield”), Bulgarian, Russian, and Ukrainian щит (ščyt, “shield”), Czech and Slovak štít (“shield”), Macedonian штит (štit, “shield”), Polish szczyt (“shield”), Serbo-Croatian штит, štit, ščit (“shield”), Slovene ščit (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”).

## Easily confused with
- **shred** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-shred)
- **shill** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-shill)
- **spiel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-spiel)
- **should** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-should)
- **shrewd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-shrewd)
- **shined** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shield-vs-shined)
- **shed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shed-vs-shield)
- **shell** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shell-vs-shield)
- **she'd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/she-d-vs-shield)
- **shelf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shelf-vs-shield)

## Common misspellings (9)
`hsield`, `sheild`, `shhield`, `shiedl`, `shieldd`, `shielld`, `shiled`, `siheld`, `sshield`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shield