See Also: shock(encyclopedia)
shock(6)(dictionary)
shock(5)(dictionary)
shock(4)(dictionary)
wet shock(medicine)
shock(3)(dictionary)
shock(2)(dictionary)
shock(1)(dictionary)
Shock(health)
Shock(medicine)

Norman (sh) and shock(2) (iou)


Norman (sh)




Any of the Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France (or the Frankish kingdom) and their descendants.

As pagan pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, they raided the European coast in the 8th century. They settled in the lower Seine valley by งใ 900. In 911 they were granted territory around what is now Rouen by King Charles III and then extended their territory westward. They founded the duchy of Normandy, governed by a line of rulers who called themselves counts or dukes of Normandy. Though the Normans converted to Christianity and adopted the French language, they continued to display their Viking ancestors' recklessness and appetite for conquest. In the 11th century they seized England in the Norman Conquest and colonized southern Italy and Sicily. The Normans also participated in the reconquest of Spain and in the Crusades, and the Normans of Italy and Sicily were rivals of the Byzantine emperors.


shock(2) (iou)



shock noun2. M16.
[French choc, from choquer SHOCK verb2.]
An encounter between two charging hostile forces, jousters, etc. arch. M16.
Southey Anon the hosts met in the shock of battle.
a. A sudden and violent blow, impact, or collision; a disturbance of equilibrium or oscillation resulting from this; a sudden large application of energy (cf. thermal shock s.v. THERMAL adjective). Also, a shock wave. E17.
osmotic shock.
Tennyson With twelve great shocks of sound, the shameless noon Was clash'd.
b. spec. A sudden violent shake or tremor of the earth's surface as part of an earthquake. L17.
World Archaeology Major earthquakes..are not common, but minor shocks are fairly frequent.
A sudden disturbance in stability, esp. as causing fluctuations in or permanent damage to an organization, monetary system, etc. M17.
culture shock: see CULTURE noun. future shock: see FUTURE adjective & noun.
A. Radcliffe It gave a severe shock to his constitution. H. Martineau The shock given to commercial credit.
a. A sudden and disturbing effect on the mind or feelings, esp. as causing depression or distress; a start of surprise, excitement, etc. Also, an occurrence, discovery, etc., occasioning such an effect. E18.
F. Burney When Cecilia was a little recovered from the shock of the first interview. J. Field I do not remember what I saw but only the shock of delight in just looking.
b. A feeling of being shocked (SHOCK verb2 4); a pained sense of something offensive to decency or morality. L19.
G. O. Trevelyan The concession of Catholic Emancipation gave a moral shock to the Tory party.
= electric shock s.v. ELECTRIC adjective. M18.
a. A paralytic seizure or stroke. Chiefly Scot. & US dial. L18.
b. A sudden debilitating effect produced by severe injury, blood loss, violent emotion, etc.; the state of nervous exhaustion resulting from emotional trauma; spec. the condition associated with circulatory collapse and sudden drop in blood pressure, characterized esp. by cold sweaty pallid skin and a weak rapid pulse. E19.
anaphylactic shock, insulin shock, spinal shock, etc. delayed shock: occurring some time after the event causing it. toxic shock syndrome: see TOXIC adjective.
c. = shell-shock s.v. SHELL noun & adjective. E20.
ellipt. = shock absorber below. Chiefly N. Amer. M20.
Comb.: shock-absorbent adjective functioning as a shock absorber; shock absorber a device on a motor vehicle etc. serving to absorb mechanical shock and to damp vibration; fig. a person who or thing which reduces or mitigates the worst effects of a new and unpleasant occurrence or experience; shock-absorbing adjective = shock-absorbent above; shock-brigade a body of esp. voluntary workers in the former USSR engaged in a particularly arduous task; shock cone Aeronautics a nose cone or Other conical fairing serving to streamline an aircraft for supersonic flight; shock cord heavy elasticated cord designed to absorb or resist mechanical shock; a length of this; shock excitation the excitation of natural oscillations in a system (esp. electronic) by a sudden external input of energy; shock-excited adjective (of a natural oscillation) that has been subjected to shock excitation; shock-horror adjective (colloq.) causing great public outrage, esp. as represented by sensationalized or indignant press coverage; shock jock colloq. a presenter on a talk-Radio show who expresses opinions in a deliberately offensive or provocative way; shock-mount noun & verb (a) noun a mounting designed to absorb or resist mechanical shock; (b) verb trans. attach by means of a shock-mount; shock-mounting (a) the action or an act of attaching something by means of a shock-mount; (b) a shock-mount; shockproof adjective resistant to the effects of (esp. physical) shock; shockproofing the process of making something shockproof; shock stall Aeronautics loss of lift produced by air resistance in an aircraft approaching the speed of sound; shock strut a strut containing a shock absorber in the landing gear of an aircraft; shock tactics (a) Military tactics in which a massed cavalry charge (chiefly Hist.) or the advance of armoured units forms a principal part; (b) sudden and violent or extreme action, esp. in pursuit of a particular aim; shock test a test in which an object is subjected to mechanical shock; shock-testing the action of subjecting an object to a shock test; shock therapy, shock treatment Medicine & Psychiatry treatment by means of convulsions artificially induced by anaphylactic or electric shock or by drugs; spec. electro-convulsive therapy; shock troops [translating German Stosstruppen] forces of selected and specially armed soldiers trained for assault; shock tube an apparatus for producing shock waves by making a gas at high pressure expand suddenly into a low-pressure tube or cavity; shock wave a transient disturbance that travels through a fluid as a narrow region in which there is a large abrupt change in pressure etc., esp. one created by an object moving faster than sound or by an explosion; any pressure wave of large amplitude; shock-worker a member of a shock-brigade.