Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shad

/ʃæd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.84 in modern English

Syllables: shad
IPA: /ʃæd/

8

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any one of several species of food fishes that make up the genus Alosa in the family Clupeidae, to which the herrings also belong; river herring.

noun

Any bluefish of the species Pomatomus saltatrix.

name

Example Sentences

"Each river had its village and its iron bridge that the train crossed with a blast of its whistle, and the girls bathing in the icy water leaped like shad as it passed, unsettling travelers with their fleeting breasts."

Etymology

From Middle English shadde, from Old English sċeadd, of uncertain origin. Compare Low German Schade (“shad, herring”), Scottish Gaelic sgadan (“herring”), Welsh ysgadan. Possibly from Scandinavian/North Germanic (compare dialectal Norwegian skadd (“small whitefish”), Old Norse skata (“kind of fish”)), but the order of borrowing is unclear and the ultimate origin of these words is obscure.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: shadde, sċeadd, -

Inflected Forms

shads (plural)

Derived Forms

shadbelly shadberry shadbird shadbush shadflower shadfly

Phrases

Agrakhan shad Alabama shad allis shad American shad Astrabad shad Azov shad Black Sea shad Caspian anadromous shad

Frequently Paired Words

shad cab

Rhymes With

had bad add dad glad sad ad mad brad pad chad lad

Questions

How do you pronounce shad?: The recorded pronunciation is /ʃæd/.
What does shad mean?: Any one of several species of food fishes that make up the genus Alosa in the family Clupeidae, to which the herrings also belong; river herring.
Where does shad come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce shad

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shad”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ʃæd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shad”.
Repeat and practice — Say “shad” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.