shelf
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shelf¹
- /ʃɛlf/
Rhymes with -ɛlf
Where it comes from
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”).
noun shelves
- A flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects. We keep the old newspapers on the bottom shelf of the cupboard, and our photos on the top shelf.
-
The capacity of such an object
a shelf of videos
Similar: shelfful
- A projecting ledge that resembles such an object. In 1981, China's Ministry of Geology surveyed the Taiwan Banks area and reported the following features: The Southern Basin (Taiwan Qian Tan) is situated approximately 200 km (124 mi) south-east of Swatao City and about 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the Taiwan Banks on the transition between shelf and slo
- The part of a repository where shelvesets are stored. This is where the Visual Studio Shelving function can help. A shelf is a place on the server in source control that is separate from the main code line so it will not affect other developers.
verb shelfs · shelfing · shelfed
- Alternative form of shelve
shelf²
- /ʃɛlf/
Rhymes with -ɛlf
Where it comes from
Of obscure origin; evidently identical to Middle English shelp (“sandbar in a river”), but the sound shift is unexpected. Shelp might be from Old English scylp (“crag”) or Middle Dutch schelp-.
noun shelves · shelfs · shelve
- A reef, sandbar, or shoal. But with a ſlaw ſuddein chauffing ſtorm-bringer Orion, / Spurnt vs too the waters: then ſootherne ſwaſhruter huffling / Flung vs on high ſhelueflats, to the rocks vs he buffeted after.
shelf³
- /ʃɛlf/
Rhymes with -ɛlf
verb shelfs · shelfing · shelfed
- Alternative form of shelve
Shelf⁴
proper noun
- A village in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE1228).
- A hamlet in Coychurch Lower community, Bridgend borough county borough, Wales (OS grid ref SS9380).
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: ledge, bin, cabinet, drawer, dresser, closet, cupboard, pantry, folding, bar, fence, deck, sill, scaffold, scaffolding, plank
Translations
Every language
noun structure
| Español | estante, balda, anaquel, entrepaño |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 선반 seonban |
| 日本語 | 棚 tana |
| 中文 | 架子 jiàzi |
| हिन्दी | तख़्ता taxtā |
| Kiswahili | rafu |
| Português | prateleira, estante |
| Français | rayon, étagère, tablard |
| Deutsch | Regal, Brett, Regalbrett, Schrankbrett, Bord, Wandbrett |
| Italiano | scaffale, mensola, ripiano, palchetto |
| Ελληνικά | ράφι ráfi |
| Română | poliță, raft |
| Русский | по́лка pólka |
| Tiếng Việt | giá sách, giá |
| العربية | رَفّ raff |
| עברית | מַדָּף madáf |
noun capacity
| Português | prateleira, estante |
|---|---|
| Français | étagère, rayonnage |
Talk about this word "shelf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/shelf. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. shelf. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/shelf "shelf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/shelf.Cite this
@misc{shelf_2026,
title = {shelf},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/shelf},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
