shark

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

shark, n. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps through OF. fr. carcharus a kind of dogfish, Gr. karchari`as, so called from its sharp teeth, fr. ka`rcharos having sharp or jagged teeth; or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf. Shark, v. t. & i.); cf. Corn. scarceas.].

•  Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.  [1913 Webster]

  " Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark, grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly belong to the genera Carcharhinus, Carcharodon, and related genera. They have several rows of large sharp teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias or Carcharodon Rondeleti) of tropical seas, and the great blue shark (Carcharhinus glaucus) of all tropical and temperate seas. The former sometimes becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most voracious and dangerous species known. The rare man-eating shark of the United States coast (Charcarodon Atwoodi) is thought by some to be a variety, or the young, of C. carcharias. The dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus), and the smaller blue shark (C. caudatus), both common species on the coast of the United States, are of moderate size and not dangerous. They feed on shellfish and bottom fishes."  [1913 Webster]
•  A rapacious, artful person; a sharper.  [1913 Webster]
•  Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark.  South.  [1913 Webster]

Baskin shark, Liver shark, Nurse shark, Oil shark, Sand shark, Tiger shark, etc. See under Basking, Liver, etc. See also Dogfish, Houndfish, Notidanian, and Tope. -- Gray shark, the sand shark. -- Hammer-headed shark. See Hammerhead. -- Port Jackson shark. See Cestraciont. -- Shark barrow, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse. -- Shark ray. Same as Angel fish (a), under Angel. -- Thrasher shark or Thresher shark, a large, voracious shark. See Thrasher. -- Whale shark, a huge harmless shark (Rhinodon typicus) of the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length, but has very small teeth.

shark, v. t. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps fr. shark, n., or perhaps related to E. shear (as hearken to hear), and originally meaning, to clip off. Cf. Shirk.].

 To pick or gather indiscriminately or covertly.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

shark, v. i. 

•  To play the petty thief; to practice fraud or trickery; to swindle.  [1913 Webster]

  "Neither sharks for a cup or a reckoning."  [1913 Webster]
•  To live by shifts and stratagems.  Beau. & Fl.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

shark, n. any of various large usu. voracious marine fish with a long body and prominent dorsal fin.

shark, n. colloq. a person who unscrupulously exploits or swindles others.

Etymology

16th c.: orig. perh. f. G Schurke worthless rogue: infl. by SHARK(1)

THESAURUS

shark

Admirable Crichton, Loch Ness monster, Reptilia, adept, alevin, animal, anthropophagite, artisan, artist, attache, authority, barbarian, beast, benthon, benthos, blackmailer, bloodsucker, brute, bunco artist, bunco steerer, cannibal, cardsharp, cardsharper, carpetbagger, cetacean, con artist, con man, confidence man, connaisseur, connoisseur, consultant, cordon bleu, crack shot, craftsman, crimp, dead shot, destroyer, diplomat, diplomatist, dolphin, elder statesman, experienced hand, expert, expert consultant, extortionist, fingerling, fish, fry, game fish, graduate, grilse, handy man, harpy, horse coper, horse trader, hyena, jackleg, journeyman, kipper, land pirate, land shark, land-grabber, leech, man-eater, man-eating shark, marine animal, marksman, minnow, minny, mortgage shark, nekton, nihilist, no slouch, panfish, pettifogger, pitchman, plankton, politician, porpoise, predator, pro, professional, professor, proficient, profiteer, racketeer, raptor, salmon, savage, savant, sea monster, sea pig, sea serpent, sea snake, shakedown artist, sharp, sharper, sharpie, shortchanger, shyster, slicker, smolt, spieler, sponge, statesman, technical adviser, technician, tiger, tropical fish, vampire, vandal, vulture, whale, wild man, wrecker

ROGET THESAURUS

shark

Thief

N thief, robber, homo triumliterarum, pilferer, rifler, filcher, plagiarist, spoiler, depredator, pillager, marauder, harpy, shark, land shark, falcon, mosstrooper, bushranger, Bedouin, brigand, freebooter, bandit, thug, dacoit, pirate, corsair, viking, Paul Jones, buccaneer, buccanier, piqueerer, pickeerer, rover, ranger, privateer, filibuster, rapparee, wrecker, picaroon, smuggler, poacher, abductor, badger, bunko man, cattle thief, chor, contrabandist, crook, hawk, holdup man, hold-up, jackleg, kidnaper, rustler, cattle rustler, sandbagger, sea king, skin, sneak thief, spieler, strong-arm man, highwayman, Dick Turpin, Claude Duval, Macheath, footpad, sturdy beggar, cut purse, pick purse, pickpocket, light-fingered gentry, sharper, card sharper, skittle sharper, thimblerigger, rook, Greek, blackleg, leg, welsher, defaulter, Autolycus, Jeremy Diddler, Robert Macaire, artful dodger, trickster, swell mob, chevalier d'industrie, shoplifter, swindler, peculator, forger, coiner, fence, receiver of stolen goods, duffer, smasher, burglar, housebreaker, cracksman, magsman, Bill Sikes, Jack Sheppard, Jonathan Wild, gang, gang of thieves, theft ring, organized crime, mafia, the Sicilian Mafia, the mob, la cosa nostra, Dillinger, Al Capone, Robin Hood.