shelf

Pronunciation: /ʃɛlf/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding objects
  2. noun a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water

Etymology

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”).

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
support
Narrower (hyponyms)
mantel, hob, bookshelf, overmantel

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