Hypertext Webster Gateway: "shelf"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Shelf \Shelf\, n.; pl. {Shelves}. [OE. shelfe, schelfe, AS.
scylfe; akin to G. schelfe, Icel. skj[=a]lf. In senses 2 & 3,
perhaps a different word (cf. {Shelve}, v. i.).]
1. (Arch.) A flat tablet or ledge of any material set
horizontally at a distance from the floor, to hold objects
of use or ornament.
2. A sand bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks,
rendering the water shallow, and dangerous to ships.
On the tawny sands and shelves. --Milton.
On the secret shelves with fury cast. --Dryden.
3. (Mining) A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat,
projecting layer of rock.
4. (Naut.) A piece of timber running the whole length of a
vessel inside the timberheads. --D. Kemp.
{To lay on the shelf}, to lay aside as unnecessary or
useless; to dismiss; to discard.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
shelf
n 1: a support that consists of a horizontal surface for holding
objects
2: a projecting ridge on a mountain or submerged under water
[syn: {ledge}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.