Etymology

Verb

1. To cut, originally with a sword or other bladed weapon, now usually with shears, or as if using shears.
   • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     So trenchant was the Templar’s weapon, that it shore asunder, as it had been a willow twig, the tough and plaited handle of the mace, which the ill-fated Saxon reared to parry the blow, and, descending on his head, levelled him with the earth.

2. To remove the fleece from a sheep etc by clipping
3. To deform because of shearing forces

Noun

1. a cutting tool similar to scissors, but often larger
2. the act of shearing, or something removed by shearing
3. a force that produces a shearing strain