shrew

Etymology 1

From Middle English *schrewe, from Old English sċrēawa (“shrew”), from Proto-Germanic *skrawwaz (“thin; meagre; frail”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut; shorten; skimp”). Cognates include Old High German scrawaz (“dwarf”), Norwegian skrugg (“dwarf”).

noun

1. Any of numerous small, mouselike, chiefly nocturnal, mammals of the family Soricidae (order Soricomorpha).
2. Certain other small mammals that resemble true shrews (order Soricomorpha).
3. (derogatory) An ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold.
   The clerk had, I'm afraid, a shrew of a wife—shrill, vehement, and fluent. 'Rogue,' 'old miser,' 'old sneak,' and a great many worse names, she called him. 1863, Sheridan Le Fanu, The House by the Churchyard
   His wife was a shrew with warts on her face and she spoke to him sharply when others were present, but Simcha did not complain. 1959, Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz

Etymology 2

From Middle English schrewen (“to make evil; curse”), from Middle English schrewe, schrowe, screwe (“wicked; evil; an evil person”), from Old English *scrēawa (“wicked person”, literally “biter”). Perhaps ultimately from the same word as Etymology 1 above.

verb

1. (obsolete, transitive) To beshrew; to curse.