shylock
UK /ˈʃaɪlɒk/ · US /ˈʃaɪlɑk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms shylocks shylocking shylocked
- noun (US, figurative, now offensive) A loan shark; a usurer.
- noun (offensive, ethnic slur) A person of Jewish descent.
- verb (intransitive, US, now offensive) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
- proper noun (fiction) A moneylender (Jewish stereotype) in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
Synonyms
Etymology
From the character Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1600).
Possibly derived from Hebrew שלח (Šélaḥ, the grandson of Shem), or Old Saxon skīr-lokk (“white-haired”), referring to goldsmiths and scriveners. It may also be derived from Michael Lok and an archaic meaning of shy (“untrustworthy”).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “shylock”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details