Shand

adj, name, noun

adj, name, noun ·1 syllable ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Shame; scandal; disgrace. uncountable
  2. 2
    Base coin; one with mixed metals. Scotland, UK, dialectal, uncountable
Adjective
  1. 1
    Worthless. Scotland, UK, dialectal
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English shande, schande, schonde, from Old English sċeand, sċand (“shame, disgrace, infamy”), from Proto-West Germanic *skandu, from Proto-Germanic *skandō (“shame, disgrace”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“to cover, hide, conceal”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Skounde (“shame, disgrace”), West Frisian skande (“disgrace, shame, humiliation”), Dutch schande (“shame, disgrace, reproach, dishonour, scandal”), German Schande (“shame, disgrace, ignominity, dishonour”), Luxembourgish Schan (“shame”), Yiddish שאַנד (shand, “shame”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰 (skanda, “shame, disgrace”). Related to shame, shend. Doublet of shanda and shonda. Compare typologically the opposite direction meaning shift Proto-Slavic *pozorъ < *zьrěti (“to observe”).

Etymology 2

From the Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, shortened from McShane.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.