shell

Forms

1.A hard external covering of an animal.
- Genuine mother-of-pearl buttons are made from sea shells.
- In some mollusks, as the cuttlefish, the shell is concealed by the animal's outer mantle and is considered internal.
2.The hard calcareous covering of a bird egg.
- The shell of an egg is easily broken.
3.One of the outer layers of skin of an onion.
- The restaurant served caramelized onion shells.
4.The hard external covering of various plant seed forms.
- The black walnut and the hickory nut, both of the same Genus as the pecan, have much thicker and harder shells than the pecan.

1.To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery.
- The guns shelled the enemy trenches.
- There wasn’t even a shed there, and she was shelling the bush.
2.To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out).(informal)
3.To remove the outer covering or shell of something.
4.To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

Rare· #4062

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH-

Proto-Indo-European *skolH-yeh₂

Proto-Germanic *skaljō

Proto-West Germanic *skallju

Old English sċiell

Middle English schelle

English shell