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Shard dates back to Old English (where it was spelled sceard) and is related to Old English scieran, meaning "to cut." English speakers have adopted the modernized shard spelling for most uses, but archaeologists prefer to spell the word sherd when referring to the ancient fragments of pottery (sometimes referred to specifically as potsherds) they unearth. While shard initially referred to exactly such items, today the word is also used more broadly to encompass slivers of intangible concepts. A baseless accusation may be made "without a shard of evidence," and fans of the losing team may "cling to a shard of hope" until the final score. The utility of shard is its, ahem, point.
Examples of shard in a Sentence
James Brooks, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
Ka’s music, which is largely self-produced, is at once stark and enveloping, a fugue of dread and predatory housing law punctured by shards and wisdom and, occasionally, discrete moments of joy.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2024
Investigators searched his white Jetta but did not find any shards of glass or blood stains.
—Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2024
Both campaigns have targeted small, often little-appreciated shards to reach hyper-specific pockets of potential voters.
—Axios, 28 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for shard 
Dictionary Entries Near shard
Cite this Entry
“Shard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shard. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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shard
noun
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