— shalelike, shaley , adj.
/shayl/ , n.
a rock of fissile or laminated structure formed by the consolidation of clay or argillaceous material.
[ 1740-50; orig. uncert.; cf. obs. shale to split (said of stone), to shell, deriv. of shale shell, husk, OE scealu shell, husk; see SCALE 2 ]