shelf

See also: Shelf

English

Etymology

From Middle English schelfe, probably from Old English scylfe (“deck of a ship”), distantly related to sculpt, carve and shell. Cognate to Dutch schelf.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃɛlf/
  • Rhymes: -ɛlf

Noun

shelf (plural shelves)

  1. A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk etc., and used to support, store or display objects.
    • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
      Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.
  2. The capacity of such an object
    a shelf of videos
  3. A projecting ledge that resembles such an object.
  4. A reef, shoal or sandbar.

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Irish: seilf
  • Welsh: silff

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

References

Anagrams

Middle English

Noun

shelf

  1. Alternative form of schelfe
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