Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell shelf

Shelf is spelled S-H-E-L-F.

hear itshelf/ʃɛlf/nounSounds

What it means: A support that holds objects, often horizontal.

In a sentence: The teddy bear sits on the shelf.

Same family: shelves, ice shelf, continental shelf, ledge, ridge. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Shelf comes from Old English 'scylfe,' meaning a ledge or support. The same root idea of a projecting ledge later gave us the modern furniture meaning of 'shelf' for holding books and objects.

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