Link Centre Dictionary

eggshell

eggs·hell

UK/ˈɛɡʃɛl/ US/ˈɛˌɡʃɛl/ rare

noun

1.

the exterior covering of a bird''s egg

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English eggeshell, ege schelle, egg-shel, egg shelle (also as Middle English eye schell, ey-schel, ey-schelle), partially continuing Old English ǣġsċill, ǣġsċyll (“eggshell”), equivalent to egg + shell. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Oaierskil (“eggshell”), Dutch eierschaal (“eggshell”), German Eierschale (“eggshell”), Danish æggeskal (“eggshell”), Swedish äggskal (“eggshell”).

Phrases

  • eggshell blue
  • eggshell rule
  • walk on eggshells

Related words

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.