Etymology: Middle
English, from Old
English sceard; akin to Old
English scieran to cut -- more at SHEAR
1 a : a piece or fragment of a brittle substance; broadly : a small piece or part b : SHELL, SCALE; especially : ELYTRON
2 usually sherd : fragments of pottery vessels found on sites and in refuse deposits where pottery-making peoples have lived
3 : highly angular curved glass fragments of tuffaceous sediments