shirt

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ʃɝt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʃɜːt/

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• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

From Middle English sherte, shurte, schirte, from Old English sċyrte (“a short garment; skirt; kirtle”), from Proto-Germanic *skurtijǭ. Cognate with Dutch schort, German Schürze (“apron”), Norwegian skjorte (“shirt”), Faroese skjúrta (“shirt”). Skirt is a parallel formation from Old Norse; which is a doublet of short, from the same ultimate source.

shirt (plural shirts)

1. An article of clothing that is worn on the upper part of the body, and often has sleeves, either long or short, that cover the arms.
   • Addison

     Several persons in December had nothing over their shoulders but their shirts.

   • Bishop Fisher

     She had her shirts and girdles of hair.

   • 2012 April 9, Mandeep Sanghera, “Tottenham 1 - 2 Norwich”, in BBC Sport‎:

     Holt was furious referee Michael Oliver refused to then award him a penalty after Ledley King appeared to pull his shirt and his anger was compounded when Spurs immediately levelled.

2. An interior lining in a blast furnace.
3. A member of the shirt-wearing team in a shirts and skins game.

From Middle English sherten, shirten (also shorten), from the noun (see above).

shirt (third-person singular simple present shirts, present participle shirting, simple past and past participle shirted)

1. To cover or clothe with a shirt, or as if with a shirt.
   • 1691, King Arthur, by John Dryden, act II, scene I.

     Ah! for so many souls, as but this morn / Were clothed with flesh, and warm’d with vital blood / But naked now, or shirted just with air.

• Hirst, Trish, riths

shirt

1. Alternative form of sherte