Shell

shel, n. a term applied to the hard outer covering or skeleton of many animals, to the internal skeleton of some invertebrates, and to the outer covering-of the eggs of various animals: any framework: the outer ear: a testaceous mollusc: any frail structure: a frail boat: a rough kind of coffin: an instrument of music: a bomb: a hollow projectile containing a bursting charge of gunpowder or other explosive ignited at the required instant by means of either time or percu ion fuses: the thin coating of copper on an electrotype: an intermediate cla in some schools.— v.t. to break off the shell: to remove the shell from: to take out of the shell: to throw shells or bombs upon, to bombard.— v.i. to fall off like a shell: to cast the shell.— ns. Shellac (she-lak′, shel′ak), Shell′-lac , lac prepared in thin plates for making varnish, .— v.t. to coat with shellac.— ns. Shell′-back , an old sailor, a barnacle; Shell′-bark , either of two North American hickories.— adj. Shelled , having a shell, testaceous.— ns. Shell′er , one who shells or husks; Shell′fish , a popular term for many aquatic animals not fishes, esp. oysters, clams and all molluscs, and crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters; Shell′-gun , a cannon used for throwing shells, esp. horizontally: Shell′-heap , a prehistoric accumulation of shells, ., pointing back to a race that lived on shellfish; Shell′-ice , ice no longer supported by the water beneath; Shell′-jack′et , an undre military jacket; Shell′-lime , lime procured from the shells of shellfish by burning; Shell′-lime′stone , a limestone largely consisting of shells; Shell′-marl , a white earthy deposit, resulting from the accumulation of fragments of shells; Shell′-mound , a shell-heap; Shell′-or′nament , decoration in which any shell-form is prominent.— adj. Shell′proof , proof against, or able to resist, shells or bombs.— ns. Shell′-room , a magazine on board ship where shells are stored; Shell′-sand , sand consisting in great part of fragments of shells, and often containing a small proportion of organic matter, a very useful manure for clay soils, heavy loams, and newly-reclaimed bogs; Shell′work , work composed of or adorned with shells.— adj. Shell′y , consisting of a shell: testaceous.— Shell out , ( slang ), to hand over, as money. [A.S. scell , scyl ; Dut. schel , Ice. skel .]