shive

plural shives

1. A slice, especially of bread.

   Of a cut loafe to steale a shiue

   c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]

   1 more example

   In my cool room with the shutters shut and the thin shives of air and light coming through the slats, I cried myself to sleep in an overloud selfpitying transport.

   1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers

2. obsoleteA sheave.
3. A beam or plank of split wood.
4. A flat, wide cork for plugging a large hole or closing a wide-mouthed bottle.

   If the conditioning continues to be fairly brisk, a wooden tut might appear to distort a little under the stress of the internal pressure, with the beer seeping out around the tut and shive.

   2011, John Alexander, A Guide to Craft Brewing

plural shives

1. A splinter or fragment of the woody core of flax or hemp broken off in braking or scutching

   Synonyms: shiv, boon, shove, hurd

2. A plant fragment remaining in scoured wool.
3. A piece of thread or fluff on the surface of cloth or other material.
4. artsA dark particle or impurity in finished paper resulting from a bundle of incompletely cooked wood fibres in the pulp.

plural shives

1. alternativeAlternative form of shiv.

   So every alleyway down here, every shadow big enough to hide a shive artist with a grudge, is a warm invitation to rewrite history.

   2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 50

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of shiva.

   There are some cultural details in Schissel’s story that are specific to the Jewish community: the family sits shive (seven days of mourning for the dead), and the preference for silence at that time.

   2010, William Labov, A Life of Learning

plural Shives

1. A surname.