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should

verb
/ʃəd/

Etymology

From Middle English scholde, from Old English sċolde, first and third person preterite form of sċulan (“should,” “have to,” “to owe”), the ancestor of English shall. By surface analysis, shall + -ed. Cognate with German sollte, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (skulda), Swedish skulle. Related to Middle English shild and shildy. The loss of /l/ in this word is probably due to weak stress, as in would and could (though in the latter, the /l/ was due to the analogy of the former two).

  1. inherited from sċolde
  2. inherited from scholde

Definitions

  1. simple past of shall

    • I told him that I should be busy tomorrow.
    • I was astonished at this polite offer, which my modesty induced me to ascribe more to my uniform than to my own merits, and, as I felt no inclination to refuse the compliment, I said that I should be most happy.

  2. Ought to

    Ought to; indicating opinion, advice, or instruction, about what is required or desirable.

    • You should never drink and drive.
    • The law is clear that you should always wear a seat belt.
    • The manual says that this switch should be in the 'off' position.

  3. Used to form a variant of the present subjunctive, expressing a state or action that is…

    Used to form a variant of the present subjunctive, expressing a state or action that is hypothetical, potential, mandated, etc.

    • If I should be late, I should hope that you are prepared to go on without me.
    • Should you need extra blankets, you will find them in the closet.
    • It's his proposal that there (should) not be several dozen units.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. An alternative to would with first person subjects.

      • If I had not been so tired, I should have laughed heartily.
      • "If our friends, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, were only with us," said the Lion, "I should be quite happy."

    2. To suggest (that someone ought to do something, or that something ought to be the case)…

      To suggest (that someone ought to do something, or that something ought to be the case) by, or as if by, using the word should.

      • I'd prefer that she stop shoulding me. I prefer that I stop shoulding me. I prefer that I stop shoulding her.
      • […] for her to be kind to herself and less susceptible to others shoulding her.

    3. Something that ought to be the case as opposed to already being the case.

      • When the golf ball is there, the whole self-interference package — the hopes, worries, and fears; the thoughts on how-to and how-not-to; the woulds, the coulds, and the shoulds — is there too.
      • However, we can address maladaptive shoulds by examining the differences between prior events, causes, proximate causes, and moral responsibility.
      • Being a list-o-maniac, I suggested we make a list of the "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts." So in the darkness of hazy sleep, I began to mentally prepare mine. The first item on the "should" side was easy: a sibling for our 3-year-old daughter.

The neighborhood

Derived

as who should say, children should be seen and not heard, he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon, how should I know, I should coco, I should cocoa, might should, no one should be judge in his own case, no one should be judge in his own cause, one should never meet one's heroes, or should I say, people that live in glass houses should not throw stones, people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, proverbs should be sold in pairs, proverbs should be writ in pairs, proverbs should come in pairs, proverbs should go in pairs, should-cost, should hope, should on, should see the other guy, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones, those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones, though I say it who should not, though I say it who should not say it, what should I do, you shouldn't have, you shouldn't talk, you should talk, zig when one should zag

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for should. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA