*shunt*

v. i. To go aside; to turn off. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. D. schuinte slant, slope, declivity. See Shunt, v. t. ] 1. (Railroad) A turning off to a side or short track, that the principal track may be left free. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Elec.) A conducting circuit joining two points in a conductor, or the terminals of a galvanometer or dynamo, so as to form a parallel or derived circuit through which a portion of the current may pass, for the purpose of regulating the amount passing in the main circuit. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gunnery) The shifting of the studs on a projectile from the deep to the shallow sides of the grooves in its discharge from a shunt gun. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shunt dynamo (Elec.), a dynamo in which the field circuit is connected with the main circuit so as to form a shunt to the letter, thus employing a portion of the current from the armature to maintain the field. --
Shunt gun, a firearm having shunt rifling. See under Rifling. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Railroad) A person employed to shunt cars from one track to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. pr. & vb. n. of Shunt. Specif.: vb. n. (a) (Railroads) Switching; as, shunting engine, yard, etc. [ British ] (b) (Finance) Arbitrage conducted between certain local markets without the necessity of the exchange involved in foreign arbitrage. [ Great Britain ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Mach.) A valve permitting a fluid under pressure an easier avenue of escape than normally; specif., a valve, actuated by the governor, used in one system of marine-engine governing to connect both ends of the low-pressure cylinder as a supplementary control. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]