SHELF

noun (plural shelves) Etymology: Middle English, probably from Old English scylfe; akin to Old Norse hlīthskjalf Odin's seat Date: 14th century 1. a thin flat usually long and narrow piece of material (as wood) fastened horizontally (as on a wall) at a distance from the floor to hold objects, one of several similar pieces in a closet, bookcase, or similar structure, the contents of a ~ , something resembling a ~ in form or position: as, a sandbank or ledge of rocks usually partially submerged, a flat projecting layer of rock, the submerged gradually sloping border of a continent or island ; continental ~ , ~ful noun ~like adjective