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shelve

Pronunciation: /ʃɛlv/

The English word “shelve” has 12 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To furnish (a place) with shelves; especially, to furnish (a library, etc.) with bookshelves.
  2. To place (something) on a shelf; especially, to place or arrange (books) on a bookshelf.
  3. To take (drugs) by anal or vaginal insertion.
  4. To have sex with (someone).
  5. To postpone or put aside, or entirely cease dealing with (a matter for discussion, a project, etc.).
  6. To remove (someone) from active service.
  7. To hang over or project like a shelf; to overhang.
  8. To extend via a series of projecting shelves.
  9. To tilt or tip (a cart) to discharge its contents.
  10. Of land or a surface: to incline, to slope.
  11. To be in an inclined or sloping position.

noun

  1. A rocky shelf or ledge of a cliff, a mountain, etc.

Etymology

The verb is a back-formation from shelves, the plural of shelf (“flat, rigid structure, fixed at right angles to a wall or forming a part of a cabinet, desk, etc., and used to display, store, or support objects”). The noun is derived from etymology 1, verb sense 2 (“(obsolete) to hang over or project like a shelf”).

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.