Etymologically
Log in

shell

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 02:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English shelle, inherited from Old English sciell (Anglian scell, earlier scel),[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *skaljō (“piece cut off, shell, scale”),[2][3][4] also the source of Middle Dutch schelle “pod, rind”, Old Norse skel “seashell” and Gothic skalja “tile”.[2][3] The shared notion is a covering that splits off, from Proto-Indo-European *skel- (“to cut”).[2][3] It is related to scale.[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The hard outer covering of a shellfish or similar animal: about 725 in the OED.[7] An eggshell is from before 900.[7]

Semantic evolution

A coating or layer is from late Old English.[2] The outer layer of a nut is from the mid-14th century,[2] and a hollow object from the 16th century.[4] The idea of a mere exterior, an empty thing, is from the 1650s.[2] As an explosive projectile it is from the 1640s, first of hand grenades, from the metal case that held the powder and shot.[2][5] Out of one's shell is from the 1550s and go into one's shell, to withdraw, from the early 19th century.[2][5] A hollow framework is from 1791 and a band shell from 1938.[2] The verb, to remove from the shell, is from the 1560s;[2][8] to bombard with shells is from 1856, and shell out, to pay, is slang from 1801, from the image of shelling nuts.[2] Shell shock is from 1915, in the First World War,[2][5] and the shell game, a swindle, from 1890.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – a shellfish's covering.[7]
  • before 900 – an eggshell.[7]
  • 1640s – an explosive projectile.[2]
  • 1801 – shell out.[2]
  • 1856 – to bombard.[2]
  • 1915 – shell shock.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The hard outer covering of an egg, a nut, or an animal such as a snail, crab or tortoise.
  2. The outer framework or walls of a building or other structure.
  3. An explosive artillery projectile, or a cartridge.
  4. A reserved manner that hides a person's feelings: come out of one's shell.

Verb

  1. To remove nuts, peas and the like from their shells.
  2. To fire explosive shells at a place.
  3. (with out, informal) To pay out money.

Word family

  • sheller
  • shell-less
  • shell-like
  • shell out

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster