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shelflike

 - 3 dictionary results

shelf

  [shelf]
Use shelflike in a Sentence
–noun, plural shelves  [shelvz] .
1. a thin slab of wood, metal, etc., fixed horizontally to a wall or in a frame, for supporting objects.
2. the contents of this: a shelf of books.
3. a surface or projection resembling this; ledge.
4. Physical Geography.
a. a sandbank or submerged extent of rock in the sea or river.
b. the bedrock underlying an alluvial deposit or the like.
c. continental shelf.
5. Archery. the upper part of the bow hand, on which the arrow rests.
—Idioms
6. off the shelf, readily available from merchandise in stock: Any of those parts can be purchased off the shelf.
7. on the shelf, Informal.
a. put aside temporarily; postponed.
b. inactive; useless.
c. without prospects of marriage, as after having broken an engagement.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME; OE scylfe; akin to LG schelf shelf, ON -skjalf bench

Related forms:
shelflike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

shelf 
c.1386, from M.L.G. schelf "shelf, set of shelves," or from O.E. cognate scylfe "shelf, ledge, floor," and scylf "peak, pinnacle," from P.Gmc. *skelf-, *skalf- "split," possibly from the notion of a split piece of wood (cf. O.N. skjölf "bench"), from PIE base *(s)kel- "to cut, cleave" (cf. L. sculpere "to carve"). Shelf life first recorded 1927. Phrase on the shelf "out of the way, inactive" is attested from 1575. Continental shelf first attested 1892.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
shelf   (shělf)  Pronunciation Key 
See continental shelf.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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