German

Noun

Schier m

1. plural of Schi

Dutch

Adverb

schier

1. (archaic) almost

Derived terms

• schiereiland - peninsula

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃi:ɐ̯/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German schir ‎(“immediate, quick”) (adv. schire), Old High German skeri ‎(“sharp, acute, quick, rapid”), likely cognate with Old Slavonic скоръ ‎(skorŭ, “rapid”) (Russian скорый ‎(skoryj)), Lithuanian skėrỹs ‎(“grasshopper”), Greek σκαίρειν ‎(skaírein, “to jump”).

Grimm assumes partial conflation with scheir ‎(“pure, bright”) (English sheer).

Adjective

schier ‎(comparative schierer, superlative am schiersten)

1. next, adjacent, immediate, soon, sudden

Declension

Adverb

schier

1. soon, nearly, almost

   1545: Hüter, ist die Nacht schier hin? (Luther, Isaiah 21:11)

   1545: Ich habe schier meine Augen ausgeweinet (Luther, Lamentations 2:11)

Synonyms

• fast, beinahe

Etymology 2

From Low German, adopted in High German in the 18th century, the High German equivalent scheir gradually falling out of use; cognate with scheuern ‎(“to scour”), like sheer from Proto-Germanic *skīriz ‎(“pure, sheer”).

Adjective

schier ‎(comparative schierer, superlative am schiersten)

1. pure, clear, bright, sheer
2. (of meat) without bones, fat, or tendons

Synonyms

• bloß, rein

Declension