Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shark \Shark\, n. [Of uncertain origin; perhaps through OF. fr.
   carcharus a kind of dogfish, Gr. karchari`as, so called from
   its sharp teeth, fr. ka`rcharos having sharp or jagged teeth;
   or perhaps named from its rapacity (cf. {Shark}, v. t. & i.);
   cf. Corn. scarceas.]
   1. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of elasmobranch
      fishes of the order Plagiostomi, found in all seas.

   Note: Some sharks, as the basking shark and the whale shark,
         grow to an enormous size, the former becoming forty
         feet or more, and the latter sixty feet or more, in
         length. Most of them are harmless to man, but some are
         exceedingly voracious. The man-eating sharks mostly
         belong to the genera {Carcharhinus}, {Carcharodon}, and
         related genera. They have several rows of large sharp
         teeth with serrated edges, as the great white shark
         ({Carcharodon carcharias, or Rondeleti}) of tropical
         seas, and the great blue shark ({Carcharhinus glaucus})
         of all tropical and temperate seas. The former
         sometimes becomes thirty-six feet long, and is the most
         voracious and dangerous species known. The rare
         man-eating shark of the United States coast
         ({Charcarodon Atwoodi}) is thought by some to be a
         variety, or the young, of {C. carcharias}. The dusky
         shark ({Carcharhinus obscurus}), and the smaller blue
         shark ({C. caudatus}), both common species on the coast
         of the United States, are of moderate size and not
         dangerous. They feed on shellfish and bottom fishes.

   2. A rapacious, artful person; a sharper. [Colloq.]

   3. Trickery; fraud; petty rapine; as, to live upon the shark.
      [Obs.] --South.

   {Baskin shark}, {Liver shark}, {Nurse shark}, {Oil shark},
   {Sand shark}, {Tiger shark}, etc. See under {Basking},
      {Liver}, etc. See also {Dogfish}, {Houndfish},
      {Notidanian}, and {Tope}.

   {Gray shark}, the sand shark.

   {Hammer-headed shark}. See {Hammerhead}.

   {Port Jackson shark}. See {Cestraciont}.

   {Shark barrow}, the eggcase of a shark; a sea purse.

   {Shark ray}. Same as {Angel fish}
      (a), under {Angel}.

   {Thrasher} shark, or {Thresher shark}, a large, voracious
      shark. See {Thrasher}.

   {Whale shark}, a huge harmless shark ({Rhinodon typicus}) of
      the Indian Ocean. It becomes sixty feet or more in length,
      but has very small teeth.



   {Oil gas}, inflammable gas procured from oil, and used for
      lighting streets, houses, etc.

   {Oil gland}.
   (a) (Zo["o]l.) A gland which secretes oil; especially in
       birds, the large gland at the base of the tail.
   (b) (Bot.) A gland, in some plants, producing oil.

   {Oil green}, a pale yellowish green, like oil.

   {Oil of brick}, empyreumatic oil obtained by subjecting a
      brick soaked in oil to distillation at a high temperature,
      -- used by lapidaries as a vehicle for the emery by which
      stones and gems are sawn or cut. --Brande & C.

   {Oil of talc}, a nostrum made of calcined talc, and famous in
      the 17th century as a cosmetic. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.

   {Oil of vitriol} (Chem.), strong sulphuric acid; -- so called
      from its oily consistency and from its forming the
      vitriols or sulphates.

   {Oil of wine}, [OE]nanthic ether. See under {[OE]nanthic}.

   {Oil painting}.
   (a) The art of painting in oil colors.
   (b) Any kind of painting of which the pigments are originally
       ground in oil.

   {Oil palm} (Bot.), a palm tree whose fruit furnishes oil,
      esp. {El[ae]is Guineensis}. See {El[ae]is}.

   {Oil sardine} (Zo["o]l.), an East Indian herring ({Clupea
      scombrina}), valued for its oil.

   {Oil shark} (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) The liver shark.
   (b) The tope.

   {Oil still}, a still for hydrocarbons, esp. for petroleum.

   {Oil test}, a test for determining the temperature at which
      petroleum oils give off vapor which is liable to explode.
      

   {Oil tree}. (Bot.)
   (a) A plant of the genus {Ricinus} ({R. communis}), from the
       seeds of which castor oil is obtained.
   (b) An Indian tree, the mahwa. See {Mahwa}.
   (c) The oil palm.

   {To burn the midnight oil}, to study or work late at night.
      

   {Volatle oils}. See {Essential oils}, under {Essential}.