Show (?), v. t. [imp. Showed (?); p. p. Shown (?) or Showed; p. pr. & vb. n. Showing. It is sometimes written shew, shewed, shewn, shewing.] [OE. schowen, shewen, schewen, shawen, AS. sce�xa0;wian, to look, see, view; akin to OS. scawn, OFries. skawia, D. schouwen, OHG. scouwn, G. schauen, Dan. skue, Sw. skda, Icel. skoa, Goth. usskawjan to waken, skuggwa a mirror, Icel. skuggy shade, shadow, L. cavere to be on one's guard, Gr. to mark, perceive, hear, Skr. kavi wise. Cf. Caution, Scavenger, Sheen.]
1.
To exhibit or present to view; to place in sight; to display; -- the thing exhibited being the object, and often with an indirect object denoting the person or thing seeing or beholding; as, to show a house; show your colors; shopkeepers show customers goods (show goods to customers).
Go thy way, shew thyself to the priest.
Matt. viii. 4.
Nor want we skill or art from whence to raise
Magnificence; and what can heaven show more?
Milton.
2.
To exhibit to the mental view; to tell; to disclose; to reveal; to make known; as, to show one's designs.
Shew them the way wherein they must walk.
Ex. xviii. 20.
If it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away.
1 Sam. xx. 13.
3.
Specifically, to make known the way to (a person); hence, to direct; to guide; to asher; to conduct; as, to show a person into a parlor; to show one to the door.
4.
To make apparent or clear, as by evidence, testimony, or reasoning; to prove; to explain; also, to manifest; to evince; as, to show the truth of a statement; to show the causes of an event.
I 'll show my duty by my timely care.
Dryden.
5.
To bestow; to confer; to afford; as, to show favor.
Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me.
Ex. xx. 6.
To show forth, to manifest; to publish; to proclaim. -- To show his paces, to exhibit the gait, speed, or the like; -- said especially of a horse. -- To show off, to exhibit ostentatiously. -- To show up, to expose. [Colloq.]
© Webster 1913.
Show, v. i. [Written also shew.]
1.
To exhibit or manifest one's self or itself; to appear; to look; to be in appearance; to seem.
Just such she shows before a rising storm.
Dryden.
All round a hedge upshoots, and shows
At distance like a little wood.
Tennyson.
2.
To have a certain appearance, as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.
My lord of York, it better showed with you.
Shak.
To show off, to make a show; to display one's self.
© Webster 1913.
Show (?), n. [Formerly written also shew.]
1.
The act of showing, or bringing to view; exposure to sight; exhibition.
2.
That which os shown, or brought to view; that which is arranged to be seen; a spectacle; an exhibition; as, a traveling show; a cattle show.
As for triumphs, masks, feasts, and such shows.
Bacon.
3.
Proud or ostentatious display; parade; pomp.
I envy none their pageantry and show.
Young.
4.
Semblance; likeness; appearance.
He through the midst unmarked,
In show plebeian angel militant
Of lowest order, passed.
Milton.
5.
False semblance; deceitful appearance; pretense.
Beware of the scribes, . . . which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers.
Luke xx. 46. 47.
6. Med.
A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occuring a short time before labor.
7. Mining
A pale blue flame, at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of fire damp.
Raymond.
Show bill, a broad sheet containing an advertisement in large letters. -- Show box, a box containing some object of curiosity carried round as a show. -- Show card, an advertising placard; also, a card for displaying samples. -- Show case, a glaed case, box, or cabinet for displaying and protecting shopkeepers' wares, articles on exhibition in museums, etc. -- Show glass, a glass which displays objects; a mirror. -- Show of hands, a raising of hands to indicate judgment; as, the vote was taken by a show of hands. -- Show stone, a piece of glass or crystal supposed to have the property of exhibiting images of persons or things not present, indicating in that way future events.
© Webster 1913.