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