Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SHELF'Y, a.

1. Full of shelves; abounding with sand-banks or rocks lying near the surface of the water, and rendering navigation dangerous; as, a shelfy coast. – Dryden.
2. Hard; firm. [See Shelf, No. 3.] [Not in use.] – Carew.

SHELL, n. [Sax. scyl, scyll, scell, a shell, and sceale, a scale; D. schil, schaal; G. schale; Dan. and Sw. skal; Fr. ecaille. The word primarily signifies that which is peeled or separated, as rind or the outer coat of plants, or their fruit; and as shells were used for dishes, the word came to signify a dish. See Scale.]

1. The hard or stony covering of certain fruits, and of certain animals; as, the shell of a nut; the shell of an oyster or lobster. The shells of animals are crustaceous or testaceous; crustaceous, as that of the lobster, and testaceous, as that of the oyster and clam.
2. The outer coat of an egg.
3. The outer part of a house unfinished. We say of a building that wants the interior timbers or finishing, that it is a mere shell.
4. An instrument of music, like testudo in Latin; the first lyre being made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise-shell. – Dryden.
5. Outer or superficial part; as, the shell of religion. – Ayliffe.
6. A bomb. Fossil shells, shells dug from the earth.

SHELL, v.i.

1. To fall off, as a shell, crust, or exterior coat.
2. To cast the shell or exterior covering. Nuts shell in falling.
3. To be disengaged from the husk; as, wheat or rye shells in reaping.

SHELL, v.t.

1. To strip or break off the shell; or to take out of the shell; as, to shell nuts or almonds.
2. To separate from the ear; as, to shell maiz.

SHELL'BARK, n.

A species of hickory, [Carya squarao,] whose bark is loose and peeling. This species produces the most palatable nut.

SHELL'ED, pp.

Deprived of the shell; also, separated from the ear; as, shelled corn or maiz.

SHELL'-FISH, n.

A testaceous molluscum, whose external covering consists of a shell; as, oysters, clams, &c.

SHELL'ING, ppr.

1. Taking off the shell; casting the external hard covering; separating from the husk and falling.
2. Separating from the ear, as maiz.

SHELL'-MARL, n.

A deposit of shells, which have been disintegrated into a gray or white pulverulent mass.

SHELL'-MEAT, n.

Food consisting of shell-fish, or testuceous mollusca. – Fuller.

SHELL'-WORK, n.

Work composed of shells, or adorned with them. – Cotgrave.

SHELL'Y, a.

1. Abounding with shells; as, the shelly shore. – Prior.
2. Consisting of shells.

SHEL'TER, n. [Sw. skyla, to cover; Dan. skiul, a shed or cover, a shelter; skiuler, to hide, conceal, cloke; L. celo.]

1. That which covers or defends from injury or annoyance. A house is a shelter from rain and other inclemencies of the weather; the foliage of a tree is a shelter from the rays of the sun. The healing plant shall aid, / From storms a shelter, nod from heat a shade. – Pope.
2. The state of being covered and protected; protection: security. Who into shelter takes their tender bloom. – Young.
3. He that defends or guards from danger; a protector. – Ps. lxi.

SHEL'TER, v.i.

To take shelter. There the Indian herdsman shunning heat, / Shelters in cool. – Milton.

SHEL'TER, v.t.

1. To cover from violence, injury, annoyance, or attack; as, a valley sheltered from the north wind by a mountain. Those ruins shelter'd once his sacred head. – Dryden. We besought the deep to shelter us. – Milton.
2. To defend; to protect from danger; to secure or render safe; to harbor. What endless honor shalt you gain, / To save and shelter Troy's unhappy train? – Dryden.
3. To betake to cover or a safe place. They sheltered themselves under a rock. – Ablest.
4. To cover from notice; to disguise for protection. In vain I strove to check my growing flame, / Or shelter passion under friendship's name. – Prior.

SHEL'TER-ED, pp.

Covered from injury or annoyance; defended; protected.

SHEL'TER-ING, ppr.

Covering from injury or annoyance; protecting.

SHEL'TER-LESS, a.

Destitute of shelter or protection; without home or refuge. Now sad and shelterless perhaps she lies. – Rowe.

SHEL'TER-Y, a.

Affording shelter. [Little used.] – White.

SHEL'TIE, n.

A small but strong horse in Scotland; so called from Shetland, where it is produced. – Encyc.

SHELVE, v.i. [shelv; Sax. scylfan, to reel.]

To incline; to be sloping.

SHELVE, v.t. [shelv.]

To place on a shelf or on shelves. [Not in use.] – Chaucer.

SHELV'ING, ppr. [or adj.]

Inclining; sloping; having declivity. With rocks and shelving arches vaulted round. – Addison.

SHELV'Y, a.

Full of rocks or sand-banks; shallow; as, a shelvy shore. [See Shelfy.] – Shak.

SHEM'ITE, n.

A descendant of Shem.