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Shrew vs Jill - What's the difference?

shrew | jill |

As nouns the difference between shrew and jill

is that shrew is any of numerous small mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family soricidae while jill is a female ferret or jill can be .

As verbs the difference between shrew and jill

is that shrew is (obsolete|transitive) to beshrew; to curse while jill is to masturbate.

shrew

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • Any of numerous small mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae.
  • An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.
    • You'd better not stay out late tonight — your mother is quite a shrew and you'll never hear the end of it.

    Synonyms

    * (mouselike mammal) ranny (obsolete)

    Hyponyms

    * (mouselike mammal) common shrew

    Derived terms

    * elephant shrew * Etruscan shrew * hardishrew * jumping shrew * Nelson's small-eared shrew * shrew-run * shrewd * shrewish * tree shrew

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To beshrew; to curse.
  • * Chaucer
    • I shrew myself.

    jill

    English

    Proper noun

    (en proper noun)
  • .
  • * 1994 , Floyd Skloot, Summer Blue , Story Line Press, ISBN 0934257086, page 98:
    • "Just Jill', I'm afraid." "Would you prefer if it was Gillian?" "Oh, I think so. Gillian sounds so much fancier." "Fancy?" Terrence said. He smiled at her. "Or perhaps it sounds flashy?" "Royal," Richard said. "Flowery," Terrence added. "You could say Gillian was more flowery. That would fit. What about you, Corrie, what does it sound like to you?" "Rich," Corrie glanced at '''Jill'''. "Gillian sounds richer than ' Jill ."
  • Generic use for any female (as Sheila in Australian English), especially paired (since the 15th c., compare Ienken and Iulyan) with the male Jack.
  • * 1590 , , Act V, Scene II:
    • Our wooing doth not end like an old play;
    Jack hath not Jill ; these ladies' courtesy
    Might well have made our sport a comedy.
  • A young woman; a sweetheart; like the variant spelling Gill it was also associated with various assertive uses of the term flirt, as in flirtgigg (used by William Shakespeare for a 'woman of light or loose behavior').
  • A jillstrap: the female counterpart to a jockstrap.

    • Derived terms

    * jillstrap

    References

    * EtymologyOnLine * English diminutives of female given names