From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sheer \Sheer\, n.
1. (Naut.)
(a) The longitudinal upward curvature of the deck,
gunwale, and lines of a vessel, as when viewed from
the side.
(b) The position of a vessel riding at single anchor and
swinging clear of it.
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2. A turn or change in a course.
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Give the canoe a sheer and get nearer to the shore.
--Cooper.
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3. pl. Shears See Shear.
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Sheer batten (Shipbuilding), a long strip of wood to guide
the carpenters in following the sheer plan.
Sheer boom, a boom slanting across a stream to direct
floating logs to one side.
Sheer hulk. See Shear hulk, under Hulk.
Sheer plan, or Sheer draught (Shipbuilding), a projection
of the lines of a vessel on a vertical longitudinal plane
passing through the middle line of the vessel.
Sheer pole (Naut.), an iron rod lashed to the shrouds just
above the dead-eyes and parallel to the ratlines.
Sheer strake (Shipbuilding), the strake under the gunwale
on the top side. --Totten.
To break sheer (Naut.), to deviate from sheer, and risk
fouling the anchor.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sheer \Sheer\, adv.
Clean; quite; at once. [Obs.] --Milton.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sheer \Sheer\, v. t. [See Shear.]
To shear. [Obs.] --Dryden.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sheer \Sheer\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sheered; p. pr. & vb. n.
Sheering.] [D. sheren to shear, cut, withdraw, warp. See
Shear.]
To decline or deviate from the line of the proper course; to
turn aside; to swerve; as, a ship sheers from her course; a
horse sheers at a bicycle.
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To sheer off, to turn or move aside to a distance; to move
away.
To sheer up, to approach obliquely.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sheer \Sheer\, a. [OE. shere, skere, pure, bright, Icel. sk?rr;
akin to sk[imac]rr, AS. sc[imac]r, OS. sk[imac]ri, MHG.
sch[imac]r, G. schier, Dan. sk?r, Sw. sk[aum]r, Goth. skeirs
clear, and E. shine. [root]157. See Shine, v. i.]
1. Bright; clear; pure; unmixed. "Sheer ale." --Shak.
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Thou sheer, immaculate, and silver fountain. --Shak.
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2. Very thin or transparent; -- applied to fabrics; as, sheer
muslin.
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3. Being only what it seems to be; obvious; simple; mere;
downright; as, sheer folly; sheer nonsense. "A sheer
impossibility." --De Quincey.
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It is not a sheer advantage to have several strings
to one's bow. --M. Arnold.
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4. Stright up and down; vertical; prpendicular.
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A sheer precipice of a thousand feet. --J. D.
Hooker.
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It was at least
Nine roods of sheer ascent. --Wordsworth.
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