shard

Also sherd

[shahrd]

noun

1. a fragment, especially of broken earthenware.

2. Zoology.

   1. a scale.

   2. a shell, as of an egg or snail.

3. Entomology.,  an elytron of a beetle.

shard

/ ʃɑːd /

noun

1. a broken piece or fragment of a brittle substance, esp of pottery

2. zoology a tough sheath, scale, or shell, esp the elytra of a beetle

Word History and Origins

Origin of shard¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English sceard; cognate with Low German, Dutch schaard; akin to shear

Word History and Origins

Origin of shard¹

Old English sceard; related to Old Norse skarth notch, Middle High German scharte notch

Example Sentences

On Thursday, piles of dirt, concrete shards and other debris surrounded the property, with a bulldozer watching over.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nearby, Yang Bao’s “Hyperspace,” a gold, mirrored pyramid accompanied by gleaming shards, nestled in a former lavender field, shimmers amid thyme, gingko, California poppies and native grasses, accompanied by haunting, and constantly mutating, music.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Artists break through with little shards of music and they might disappear or they might sell out your city’s basketball arena.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Atlas workers dismantled a makeshift wall of shipping containers between the scrap yard and school, which was intended to prevent sharp metal shards and other debris from flying onto the school yard.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To be fair, there are shards of plausibility in that narrative, as is generally true of effective propaganda.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• fragment 
• particle 
• remnant