SHEVO. An entertainment, thought by some to be derived from the gaiety of the chevaux, or horse-guards; more probably from chez-vous.
SHIBAH. A small Indian vessel.
SHIELD-SHIP. A vessel fitted with one or more massive iron shields, each protecting a heavy gun or guns. The name was applied to an improvement on the "cupola-ship," before the latter was perfected into the "turret-ship."
SHIELD TOWER OR TURRET. A revolving armoured cover for guns.
SHIEVE, To. To have head-way. To row the wrong way, in order to assist the steersman in a narrow channel.
SHIFT. In ship-building, when one butt of a piece of timber or plank overlaunches the butt of another, without either being reduced in length, for the purpose of strength and stability.—To shift [thought to be from the Anglo-Saxon scyftan, to divide]. To change or alter the position of; as, to shift a sail, top-mast, or spar; to shift the helm, &c. Also, to change one's clothes.
SHIFT A BERTH, To. To move from one anchorage to another.
SHIFTED. The state of a ship's ballast or cargo when it is shaken from one side to the other, either by the violence of her rolling, or by her too great inclination to one side under a great press of sail; this accident, however, rarely happens, unless the cargo is stowed in bulk, as corn, salt, &c.
SHIFTER. A person formerly appointed to assist the ship's cook in washing, steeping, and shifting the salt provisions; so called from having to change the water in the steep-tub.
SHIFTING A TACKLE. The act of removing the blocks of a tackle to a greater distance from each other, in order to extend their purchase; this operation is otherwise called [fleeting] (which see).