different between shrewd vs dido

English

Alternative forms

• shrewde (obsolete)

Etymology

c. 1300, Middle English schrewed (“depraved; wicked”, literally “accursed”), from schrewen (“to curse; beshrew”), from schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“evil or wicked person/thing”), from Old English scr?awa (“wicked person”, literally “biter”). Equivalent to shrew +? -ed. More at shrew.

The sense of "cunning" developed in early 16^th c., gradually gaining a positive connotation by 17^th c.

Pronunciation

• enPR: shro?od, IPA^(key): /??u?d/

• Rhymes: -u?d

Adjective

shrewd (comparative shrewder, superlative shrewdest)

1. Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters.
2. Artful, tricky or cunning.
3. (informal) Streetwise, street-smart.
4. Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen.
5. Nigh accurate.

6. Severe, intense, hard.

7. Sharp, snithy, piercing.

8. (archaic) Bad, evil, threatening.
   • 1596-97, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, Act III Scene ii:

     Portia:

     There are some shrewd contents in yon same paper,

     That steals the colours from Bassanio's cheek:

     Some dear friend dead; else nothing in the world

     Could turn so much the constitution

     Of any constant man. What, worse and worse!— […]

9. (obsolete) Portending, boding.
10. (archaic) Noxious, scatheful, mischievous.
11. (obsolete) Abusive, shrewish.
12. (archaic) Scolding, satirical, sharp.
    • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act II Scene i:

      Leonato: By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband, if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.

Derived terms

• shrewdly
• shrewdness

Translations

English

Etymology 1

Origin unknown. The "trick" sense might come from the trick of Dido, queen of Carthage, who, having bought as much land as a hide would cover, is said to have cut it into thin strips long enough to enclose a spot for a citadel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?da?d??/

Noun

dido (plural didos or didoes)

1. (slang, regional) A fuss, a row.
   • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, p. 30:

     I remember Raymond telling me years later how when he lived at home, if his mother heard he had been seen as much as talking to a girl, she would kick up a dido.

2. A shrewd trick; an antic; a caper.

   to cut a dido

   • 1838, Joseph Clay Neal, Charcoal Sketches; Or, Scenes in a Metropolis, p. 201

     Young people," interposed a passing official, " if you keep a cutting didoes, I must talk to you both like a Dutch uncle.

   • 1969, Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, 1971, Chapter 10, p. 55,^[1]

     Our youngest uncle, Billy, was not old enough to join in their didoes. One of their more flamboyant escapades has become a proud family legend.

Etymology 2

Adverb

dido (not comparable)

1. (US) Misspelling of ditto.

Anagrams

• doid

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin digitus (“finger”).

Noun

dido m (plural didos)

1. finger
2. toe

References

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002) , “dido”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, ?ISBN

Esperanto

Alternative forms

• dodo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?dido/
• Hyphenation: di?do
• Rhymes: -ido

Noun

dido (accusative singular didon, plural didoj, accusative plural didojn)

1. dodo (bird)

Latin

Etymology

From dis- +? d?.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?di?.do?/, [?d?i?d?o?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?di.do/, [?d?i?d??]

Verb

d?d? (present infinitive d?dere, perfect active d?did?, supine d?ditum); third conjugation

1. I give out, spread abroad, disseminate, distribute, scatter.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• d?ditus
• d?dimus

Related terms

• cond?

References

• dido in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dido in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• dido in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• dido in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• dido in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray