Link Centre Dictionary

shelf

UK/ʃɛlf/ US/ˈʃɛlf/ fairly common

noun

1.

a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects

2.

a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

Synonyms

Origin

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”).

Phrases

  • beehive shelf
  • commercial off-the-shelf
  • conducting shelf
  • high shelf
  • off the shelf
  • on the shelf
  • shelf bra
  • shelf break

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower 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.