shield

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
shield/ʃiːld/

▶noun

• 1 a broad piece of armour held by straps or a handle on one side, used for protection against blows or missiles.

  ■ Heraldry a stylized representation of a shield used for displaying a coat of arms.

• 2 a sporting trophy consisting of an engraved metal plate mounted on a piece of wood.

• 3 a US police officer's badge.

• 4 Geology a large rigid area of Precambrian rock, unaffected by later crustal processes.

• 5 a person or thing providing protection.

  ■ a protective plate, screen, or other structure.

▶verb

• 1 protect from a danger, risk, etc.

  ■ enclose or screen (machinery) to protect the user.

• 2 prevent from being seen.

• 3 prevent or reduce the escape of sound, light, or other radiation from.

– derivatives
shieldless adjective.

– origin OE scild (n.), scildan (v.), of Gmc origin, from a base meaning ‘divide, separate’.