n. A plant; chard. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. sceard, properly a p. p. from the root of scearn to shear, to cut; akin to D. schaard a fragment, G. scharte a notch, Icel. skarð. See Shear, and cf. Sherd. ] [ Written also sheard, and sherd. ] 1. A piece or fragment of an earthen vessel, or a like brittle substance, as the shell of an egg or snail. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The precious dish
Broke into shards of beauty on the board. E. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) The hard wing case of a beetle. [ 1913 Webster ]

They are his shards, and he their beetle. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A gap in a fence. [ Obs. ] Stanyhurst. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A boundary; a division. [ Obs. & R. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Borne on shards or scaly wing cases. “The shard-borne beetle.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having elytra, as a beetle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having, or consisting of, shards. [ 1913 Webster ]