Shelf

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A sand bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks,
        rendering the water shallow, and dangerous to ships.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              On the tawny sands and shelves.       --Milton.
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              On the secret shelves with fury cast. --Dryden.
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     3. (Mining) A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat,
        projecting layer of rock.
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     4. (Naut.) A piece of timber running the whole length of a
        vessel inside the timberheads. --D. Kemp.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {To lay on the shelf}, to lay aside as unnecessary or
        useless; to dismiss; to discard.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [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}]
       [also: {shelves} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  112 Moby Thesaurus words for "shelf":
     archives, armory, arsenal, attic, band, bank, bar, basement, bay,
     beam-end, bed, bedding, belt, bin, bonded warehouse, bookcase, box,
     bunker, buttery, cargo dock, cellar, chest, closet, conservatory,
     coral reef, corbel, couche, course, crate, crib, cupboard, deck,
     depository, depot, dock, drawer, dump, exchequer, flat, floor,
     ford, gallery, glory hole, godown, gradin, gradino, hob, hold,
     hutch, layer, ledge, level, library, locker, lumber room,
     lumberyard, magasin, magazine, mantel, mantelshelf, measures,
     overlayer, overstory, predella, rack, reef, repertory, repository,
     reservoir, retable, rick, sandbank, sandbar, seam, shallow,
     shallows, shoal, shoal water, shoulder, stack, stack room, stage,
     step, stock room, storage, store, storehouse, storeroom, story,
     stratum, substratum, superaltar, superstratum, supply base,
     supply depot, tank, thickness, tidal flats, tier, topsoil,
     treasure house, treasure room, treasury, underlayer, understory,
     understratum, vat, vault, warehouse, wetlands, wine cellar, zone
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  shelf
       
          A public library of {class}es for the {Eiffel} language.