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WIKTIONARY VIA KAIKKI / WIKTEXTRACT
Imported dictionary evidence
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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
PARTIAL ENGLISH COVERAGE · FULL CORPUS REMAINS LOCAL3 source sections across 1 headword matching “Shelf”. These are separate from the reviewed results below.
shelfEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel(H)-p-der. Proto-Germanic *skelfōder. Proto-West Germanic *skelfu:der. Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā Old English sċylfe? Middle English schelfe English shelf From Middle English schelfe, probably from Old English sċylfe, sċilfe (“shelf, ledge, deck of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā, from Proto-Germanic *skelfō (“shelf, ledge, cliff”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), distantly related to sculpt, carve and shell. Cognate with Dutch schelf (“hay loft, haystack”), German Low German Schelf (“haystack”), Old Norse skjalf (“bench”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗shelfEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel(H)-p-der. Proto-Germanic *skelfōder. Proto-West Germanic *skelfu:der. Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā Old English sċylfe? Middle English schelfe English shelf From Middle English schelfe, probably from Old English sċylfe, sċilfe (“shelf, ledge, deck of a ship”), from Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā, from Proto-Germanic *skelfō (“shelf, ledge, cliff”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to cut”), distantly related to sculpt, carve and shell. Cognate with Dutch schelf (“hay loft, haystack”), German Low German Schelf (“haystack”), Old Norse skjalf (“bench”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗shelfEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
Of obscure origin; evidently identical to Middle English shelp (“sandbar in a river”), but the sound shift is unexpected. Shelp might be from Old English scylp (“crag”) or Middle Dutch schelp-.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
More sources for this spelling
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MODERN ENTRY POINTS
WORD DOSSIERS
No reviewed record in this collection contains “shelf.” Absence describes this graph, not all of linguistic scholarship.
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ATTESTED / RECONSTRUCTED / BOUNDARY
HISTORICAL FORMS
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WHERE INTERPRETATION IS TESTED
CLAIMS & DISPUTES
SCHOLARLY DISPUTES / 2
resolvedestablishedposition text
Is the possible runic inscription shown on modern dictionary pages a historical attestation?
No. It is a generated transliteration widget, not a cited inscription, object, shelfmark, or manuscript record.
resolvedestablishedposition text
Are the possible runic inscriptions on modern dictionary pages historical attestations?
No. They are generated transliteration widgets without an object, inscription identifier, shelfmark, or historical locator.
CONTRARIAN TRUTHS / 0
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BOOKS / DICTIONARIES / ARTICLES / DATABASES
SOURCES
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FIRST USES & HISTORICAL OBJECTS
ATTESTATION WITNESSES
No reviewed record in this collection contains “shelf.” Absence describes this graph, not all of linguistic scholarship.
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