Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Shift \Shift\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Shifted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Shifting}.] [OE. shiften, schiften, to divide, change,
   remove. AS. sciftan to divide; akin to LG. & D. schiften to
   divide, distinguish, part Icel. skipta to divide, to part, to
   shift, to change, Dan skifte, Sw. skifta, and probably to
   Icel. sk[=i]fa to cut into slices, as n., a slice, and to E.
   shive, sheave, n., shiver, n.]
   1. To divide; to distribute; to apportion. [Obs.]

            To which God of his bounty would shift Crowns two of
            flowers well smelling.                --Chaucer.

   2. To change the place of; to move or remove from one place
      to another; as, to shift a burden from one shoulder to
      another; to shift the blame.

            Hastily he schifte him[self].         --Piers
                                                  Plowman.

            Pare saffron between the two St. Mary's days, Or set
            or go shift it that knowest the ways. --Tusser.

   3. To change the position of; to alter the bearings of; to
      turn; as, to shift the helm or sails.

            Carrying the oar loose, [they] shift it hither and
            thither at pleasure.                  --Sir W.
                                                  Raleigh.

   4. To exchange for another of the same class; to remove and
      to put some similar thing in its place; to change; as, to
      shift the clothes; to shift the scenes.

            I would advise you to shift a shirt.  --Shak.

   5. To change the clothing of; -- used reflexively. [Obs.]

            As it were to ride day and night; and . . . not to
            have patience to shift me.            --Shak.

   6. To put off or out of the way by some expedient. ``I
      shifted him away.'' --Shak.

   {To shift off}, to delay; to defer; to put off; to lay aside.
      

   {To shift the scene}, to change the locality or the
      surroundings, as in a play or a story.

            Shift the scene for half an hour; Time and place are
            in thy power.                         --Swift.

Shift \Shift\, n. [Cf. Icel skipti. See {Shift}, v. t.]
   1. The act of shifting. Specifically:
      (a) The act of putting one thing in the place of another,
          or of changing the place of a thing; change;
          substitution.

                My going to Oxford was not merely for shift of
                air.                              --Sir H.
                                                  Wotton.
      (b) A turning from one thing to another; hence, an
          expedient tried in difficalty; often, an evasion; a
          trick; a fraud. ``Reduced to pitiable shifts.''
          --Macaulay.

                I 'll find a thousand shifts to get away.
                                                  --Shak.

                Little souls on little shifts rely. --Dryden.

   2. Something frequently shifted; especially, a woman's
      under-garment; a chemise.

   3. The change of one set of workmen for another; hence, a
      spell, or turn, of work; also, a set of workmen who work
      in turn with other sets; as, a night shift.

   4. In building, the extent, or arrangement, of the
      overlapping of plank, brick, stones, etc., that are placed
      in courses so as to break joints.

   5. (Mining) A breaking off and dislocation of a seam; a
      fault.

   6. (Mus.) A change of the position of the hand on the finger
      board, in playing the violin.

   {To make shift}, to contrive or manage in an exigency. ``I
      shall make shift to go without him.'' --Shak.

            [They] made a shift to keep their own in Ireland.
                                                  --Milton.

Source : WordNet®

shift
     n 1: an event in which something is displaced without rotation
          [syn: {displacement}]
     2: a qualitative change [syn: {transformation}, {transmutation}]
     3: the time period during which you are at work [syn: {work
        shift}, {duty period}]
     4: the act of changing one thing or position for another; "his
        switch on abortion cost him the election" [syn: {switch},
        {switching}]
     5: the act of moving from one place to another; "his constant
        shifting disrupted the class" [syn: {shifting}]
     6: (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the
        displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they
        built it right over a geological fault" [syn: {fault}, {geological
        fault}, {fracture}, {break}]
     7: a group of workers who work for a specific period of time
     8: a woman's sleeveless undergarment [syn: {chemise}, {shimmy},
         {slip}, {teddies}, {teddy}]
     9: a loose-fitting dress hanging straight from the shoulders
        without a waist [syn: {chemise}, {sack}]

shift
     v 1: make a shift in or exchange of; "First Joe led; then we
          switched" [syn: {switch}, {change over}]
     2: change place or direction; "Shift one's position" [syn: {dislodge},
         {reposition}]
     3: move around; "transfer the packet from his trouser pockets
        to a pocket in his jacket" [syn: {transfer}]
     4: move very slightly; "He shifted in his seat" [syn: {stir}, {budge},
         {agitate}]
     5: move from one setting or context to another; "shift the
        emphasis"; "shift one's attention"
     6: change in quality; "His tone shifted"
     7: move and exchange for another; "shift the date for our class
        reunion"
     8: move sideways or in an unsteady way; "The ship careened out
        of control" [syn: {careen}, {wobble}, {tilt}]
     9: move abruptly; "The ship suddenly lurched to the left" [syn:
         {lurch}, {pitch}]
     10: use a shift key on a keyboard; "She could not shift so all
         ther letters are written in lower case"
     11: change phonetically as part of a systematic historical
         change; "Grimm showed how the consonants shifted"
     12: change gears; "you have to shift when you go down a steep
         hill"
     13: lay aside, abandon, or leave for another; "switch to a
         different brand of beer"; "She switched psychiatrists";
         "The car changed lanes" [syn: {switch}, {change}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

SHIFT
     
        Scalable Heterogeneous Integrated Facility Testbed.  A
        parallel processing project at CERN.