shirr

[shur]

verb (used with object)

to draw up or gather (cloth or the like) on three or more parallel threads.
to bake (eggs removed from the shell) in a shallow dish or in individual dishes.

noun

Also shirr·ing. a shirred arrangement, as of cloth.

Origin of shirr

First recorded in 1840–50; origin uncertain

Related formsun·shirred, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shirr

Historical Examples of shirr

Shirr some eggs, and before serving pour some tomato sauce, or pure, over the white of the eggs.
The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book
Victor Hirtzler
Shirr, Shir, shėr, n. a puckering made in a fabric by parallel gathering-threads.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)
Various
Shirr′ing, decorative-shirred needlework; Shirr′ing-string, a cord used to gather the threads together in shirred-work.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for shirr

shirr

verb

to gather (fabric) into two or more parallel rows to decorate a dress, blouse, etc, often using elastic thread
(tr) to bake (eggs) out of their shells

noun Also: shirring

a series of gathered rows decorating a dress, blouse, etc

Word Origin for shirr

C19: of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shirr

"to gather (cloth) on parallel threads," 1860 (implied in shirring), back-formation from shirred (1847), from shirr (n.) "elastic webbing," of unknown origin.