Definition

Noun: A sherd is a broken piece of a brittle artifact, especially a fragment of pottery or glass.

Usage

The word "sherd" is used primarily in archaeology and historical contexts to describe a fragment of a hard, brittle material, most commonly pottery, that has been broken. It is a specific, technical term.

Examples

• Archaeologists carefully cataloged every sherd found at the ancient settlement.
• The museum displayed a collection of painted pottery sherds from the Roman era.
• He found a colorful sherd of porcelain while digging in the garden.

Advanced Usage

• Pottery sherd: This is the most common usage, specifying the fragment is from a ceramic object.
• Glass sherd: Used to specify a fragment of glass, though "shard" is more common for glass in modern usage.

Variants and Related Words

• Shard (noun): A sharp fragment, especially of glass, metal, or rock. While "sherd" and "shard" are often used interchangeably, "sherd" is strongly associated with archaeology and pottery, whereas "shard" has broader application (e.g., a shard of glass, a shard of ice).
• Fragment (noun): A general term for a small part broken off from something.
• Potsherd (noun): A direct synonym for a pottery sherd. This compound word explicitly combines "pot" and "sherd."

Synonyms

• Fragment
• Piece
• Potsherd (for pottery)
• Remnant

Notes on Different Meanings

"Sherd" has a single, specific meaning related to broken artifacts. It should not be confused with the more general word "shard," though they share an etymological root. In entomology (the study of insects), the word "elytron" (plural: elytra) is used for the hardened forewing of a beetle, which is a different concept entirely from a broken artifact fragment.

Noun

1. a broken piece of a brittle artifact