shelf Meaning, Definition & Usage

  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
    ledge.

WordNet

Shelf noun
Etymology
OE. shelfe, schelfe, AS. scylfe; akin to G. schelfe, Icel. skjalf. In senses 2 & 3, perhaps a different word (cf. Shelve, v. i.).
Wordforms
plural Shelves
Definitions
  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.

Webster 1913