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Shine

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shine¹

  • /ʃaɪn/ Canada, UK, US

Rhymes with -aɪn

Where it comes from

From Middle English shinen, schinen (preterite schon, past participle schinen), from Old English sċīnan (“to shine, flash; be resplendent”; preterite sċān, past participle sċinen), from Proto-West Germanic *skīnan (“to shine”), from Proto-Germanic *skīnaną (“to shine”).

Cognate with Dutch schijnen, German scheinen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål skinne, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish skina, Faroese and Icelandic skína.

verb shines · shining · shone · shined

  1. copulative, intransitive To emit or reflect light so as to glow. The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds.
  2. copulative, intransitive To reflect light.
  3. copulative, intransitive To distinguish oneself; to excel. My nephew tried other sports before deciding on football, which he shone at right away, quickly becoming the star of his school team.
  4. copulative, intransitive To be effulgent in splendour or beauty. So proud she shyned in her Princely state.
  5. copulative, intransitive To be eminent, conspicuous, or distinguished; to exhibit brilliant intellectual powers. Few are qualified to shine in company; but it in most men's power to be agreeable.
  6. copulative, intransitive To be immediately apparent.
  7. transitive To create light with (a flashlight, lamp, torch, or similar). I shone my light into the darkness to see what was making the noise.
  8. transitive To cause to shine, as a light or by reflected light. in hunting, to shine the eyes of a deer at night by throwing a light on them

Similar: beam, beshine, gleam, glow, illuminate, illumine, light up, shine

noun shines

  1. countable, uncountable Brightness from a source of light. the distant shine of the celestial city
  2. countable, uncountable Brightness from reflected light.
  3. countable, uncountable Excellence in quality or appearance; splendour.
  4. countable, uncountable Shoeshine. Take a shine. You need it.
  5. countable, uncountable Sunshine (typically in contrast with rain). be fair or foul, or rain or shine
  6. countable, slang, uncountable Moonshine; an illicitly brewed alcoholic drink.
  7. countable, derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slang, slur A black person. "If you want your black head blown off, shine, you just make a move to stop us."
  8. countable, uncountable The amount of shininess on a cricket ball, or on each side of the ball.
  9. countable, slang, uncountable A liking for a person; a fancy. She's certainly taken a shine to you.
  10. archaic, countable, slang, uncountable A caper; an antic; a row.

shine²

  • /ʃaɪn/ Canada, UK, US

Rhymes with -aɪn

Where it comes from

From the noun shine, or perhaps continuing Middle English schinen in its causative uses, from Old English scīn (“brightness, shine”), and also Middle English schenen, from Old English scǣnan (“to render brilliant, make shine”), from Proto-Germanic *skainijaną, causative of *skīnaną (“to shine”).

verb shines · shining · shined

  1. transitive To cause (something) to be smooth and shiny by rubbing; put a shine on (something); polish (something). He shined my shoes until they were polished smooth and gleaming.
  2. transitive To polish a cricket ball using saliva and one’s clothing.

Similar: beam, beshine, gleam, glow, illuminate, illumine, light up, shine

Shine³

proper noun Shines

  1. A surname.

SHINE⁴

noun

  1. abbreviation, acronym Acronym of single high-impulse noise event.single high-impulse noise event

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