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Added 9 October 2026

shelf

/ʃɛlf/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shelf at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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