- sheer (adj.)
- c.1200, "exempt, free from guilt," later schiere "thin, sparse" (c.1400), from Old English scir "bright, clear," influenced by Old Norse cognate scær "bright, clean, pure," from Proto-Germanic *skairijaz (cf. Old Saxon skiri, Old Frisian skire, German schier, Gothic skeirs "clean, pure"), perhaps from PIE root *skai- "to shine" (see shine). Sense of "absolute, utter" (sheer nonsense) developed 1580s; that of "very steep" (sheer cliff) is first recorded 1800.