[shahy-lok] 
| 1. | a relentless and revengeful moneylender in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. |
| 2. | a hard-hearted moneylender. |
| 3. | (lowercase ) to lend money at extortionate rates of interest. |
| shy·lock (shī'lŏk') n. A ruthless moneylender; a loan shark. intr.v. shy·locked, shy·lock·ing, shy·locks To lend money at exorbitant interest rates. [After Shylock, the ruthless Jewish usurer in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.] |
The merciless moneylender in The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. He demands a pound of flesh from the title character of the play after the merchant defaults on his debt.
Note: Shylock is a Jew, and there has long been controversy over whether Shakespeare's portrayal of Shylock contributes to prejudice against Jews. Shylock is a cruel miser and eventually is heavily fined and disgraced, but he maintains his dignity. At one point in the play, he makes a famous, eloquent assertion that his desire for revenge is the same desire that a Christian would feel in his place. “I am a Jew,” says Shylock. “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?”