[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.] |