English Online Dictionary. What means shelf? What does shelf mean?
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʃɛlf/
- Rhymes: -ɛlf
Etymology 1
From Middle English schelfe, probably from Old English sċylfe, sċilfe (“shelf, ledge, deck of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā, from Proto-Germanic *skelfō (“shelf, ledge, cliff”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), distantly related to sculpt, carve and shell. Cognate with Dutch schelf (“hay loft, haystack”), German Low German Schelf (“haystack”), Old Norse skjalf (“bench”).
Noun
shelf (plural shelves)
- A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects.
- The capacity of such an object
- A projecting ledge that resembles such an object.
- (computing) The part of a repository where shelvesets are stored.
Synonyms
- (capacity): shelfful
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
- shelve
Descendants
- → Czech: šelf
- → Irish: seilf
- → Serbo-Croatian: šȅlf, ше̏лф
- → Welsh: silff
Translations
Etymology 2
Of obscure origin; evidently identical to Middle English shelp (“sandbar in a river”), but the sound shift is unexpected. Shelp might be from Old English scylp (“crag”) or Middle Dutch schelp-.
Noun
shelf (plural shelves or shelfs)
- A reef, sandbar, or shoal.
Alternative forms
- shelve (archaic)
Derived terms
- shelfy
Translations
References
- Henry E[lliot] Shepherd (1883) “Nouns”, in A Grammar of the English Language, Baltimore, Md.: John B. Piet & Co., page 19:
- K. T. B. (1885) “On the Plural of Substantives in English”, in Taalstudie. Tweemaandelijksch tijdschrift voor de studie der nieuwe talen., Blom & Olivierse, page 89:
Further reading
- shelf on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- Fehls, flesh
Middle English
Noun
shelf
- Alternative form of schelfe