Sheriff, sher′if, n. the governor of a shire: (English law) the chief officer of the crown in every county or shire, his duties being chiefly ministerial rather than judicial: (Scots law) the chief magistrate and judge of the county: in the United States the office of sheriff is mainly ministerial, his principal duties to maintain peace and order, attend courts, guard prisoners, serve processes, and execute judgments.—ns. Sher′iffalty, Sher′iffdom, Sher′iffship, the office or jurisdiction of a sheriff; Sher′iff-clerk, in Scotland the registrar of the sheriff's court, who has charge of the records of the court; Sher′iff-dep′ute (Scot.), the sheriff proper, so called since the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions in 1748 to distinguish him from the earlier heritable Sher′iff-prin′cipal, whose title is now merged in that of the Lord-lieutenant; Sher′iff-off′icer, in Scotland, an officer connected with the sheriff's court, who is charged with arrests, the serving of processes, &c.; Sher′iff-sub′stitute, the acting sheriff in a Scotch county or city, like the sheriff-depute appointed by the crown, but unlike the sheriff-depute forced to reside within his judicial district, and forbidden to take other employment; Un′der-sher′iff, the deputy of an English sheriff who performs the execution of writs. [A.S. scir-geréfa—scir (Eng. shire), geréfa, a governor; cog. with Ger. graf, a count.]
Sherris, sher′is, n. (Shak.). Same as Sherry.
Sherry, sher′i, n. a name derived from Xeres or Jerez de la Frontera, near Cadiz, and applied to the better kind of white wines grown in the neighbourhood of Xeres.—Sherry cobbler, a cobbler made with sherry.—Natural sherry, a sherry having from two to four per cent. of spirit added to make it keep.
Shet, shet, adj. (U.S.) freed from.
Shetlander, shet′land-ėr, n. a native or inhabitant of Shetland.—Shetland lace, an open-work ornamental trimming made with woollen yarn for shawls, &c.; Shetland pony, a small sturdy and shaggy horse, usually nine to ten hands high, a shelty; Shetland wool, a thin but strong undyed worsted, spun from the wool of the sheep in the Shetland Islands, much used for knitting fine shawls, &c.
Sheuch, Sheugh, shōōh, or shyuh, n. (Scot.) a ditch.
Sheva, she-vä′, n. a Hebrew point (:) written below its consonant, and indicating properly the absence of a vowel (simple sheva). It is either unsounded, as at the close of a syllable (silent sheva), or given a short breathing or neutral sound, as at the beginning of a syllable (vocal sheva). Sometimes it is compounded with the short vowels, forming compound shevas.
Shew, shō. Same as Show.
Shewbread, shō′bred. Same as Showbread.
Shiah, shē′ä, n. a member of that Mohammedan sect which maintains that Ali, first cousin of Mohammed and husband of his daughter Fatima, was the first legitimate successor of the Prophet, rejecting the three califs of their opponents the Sunnis, as usurpers.—n. Shiism (shē′izm). [Ar. shī'a, sect.]