shell

In some mollusks, as the cuttlefish, the shell is concealed by the animal's outer mantle and is considered internal.

Genuine mother-of-pearl buttons are made from sea shells.

[…] if with thee the roaring wells
Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine;
And hands so often clasp’d in mine,
Should toss with tangle and with shells.

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto X:

The calcareous or chitinous external covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other invertebrates.

(by extension) Any mollusk having such a covering.

A hard external covering of an animal.
Any mollusk having such a covering.

(entomology) The exoskeleton or wing covers of certain insects.

The exoskeleton or wing covers of certain insects.

The conjoined scutes that constitute the "shell" (carapace) of a tortoise or turtle.

The overlapping hard plates comprising the armor covering the armadillo's body.

The hard calcareous covering of a bird egg.

The restaurant served caramelized onion shells.

One of the outer layers of skin of an onion.

The black walnut and the hickory nut, both of the same Genus as the pecan, have much thicker and harder shells than the pecan.

(botany) The hard external covering of various plant seed forms.

The covering, or outside part, of a nut.

The hard external covering of various plant seed forms.

The covering, or outside part, of a nut.

Phaseolus vulgaris
Phaseolus vulgaris#Translingual

A pod containing the seeds of certain plants, such as the legume Phaseolus vulgaris.

(in the plural) Husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is sometimes used as a substitute or adulterant for cocoa and its products such as chocolate.

(geology) The accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode.

The accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode.

(weaponry) The casing of a self-contained single-unit artillery projectile.

(weaponry) A hollow, usually spherical or cylindrical projectile fired from a siege mortar or a smoothbore cannon. It contains an explosive substance designed to be ignited by a fuse or by percussion at the target site so that it will burst and scatter at high velocity its contents and fragments. Formerly called a bomb.

(weaponry) The cartridge of a breechloading firearm; a load; a bullet; a round.

(architecture) Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior structure, regarded as not complete or filled in, as the shell of a house.

A garment, usually worn by women, such as a shirt, blouse, or top, with short sleeves or no sleeves, that often fastens in the rear.

Upstairs in that chill darkened room which nobody passes who can help it , the old Baronet lies in his coffin shell - an awful form faintly defined beneath the sheet

1877, Burke O'Farrell, Proud as Lucifer: A Novel:

A coarse or flimsy coffin; a thin interior coffin enclosed within a more substantial one.

Then they lifted the body into the bag, setting it down like something breakable, zipped the bag, wrapped the whole thing in polythene and carried the stretcher into the shell.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 23:

An unmarked vehicle for carrying corpses from a crime scene.

The first lyre may have been made by drawing strings over the underside of a tortoise shell.

when Jubal struck the chorded shell

1687, John Dryden, A Song for Cecilia's Day:

(music) A string instrument, as a lyre, whose acoustical chamber is formed like a shell.

(music) The body of a drum; the often wooden, often cylindrical acoustic chamber, with or without rims added for tuning and for attaching the drum head.

An engraved copper roller used in print works.

The thin coating of copper on an electrotype.

(nautical) The watertight outer covering of the hull of a vessel, often made with planking or metal plating.

(nautical, rigging) The outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve.

(nautical) A light boat whose frame is covered with thin wood, impermeable fabric, or water-proofed paper; a racing shell or dragon boat.

principal quantum number
principal quantum number

(chemistry) A set of atomic orbitals that have the same principal quantum number.

(figuratively) The outward form independent of what is inside.

The outward form independent of what is inside.

The setback left him a mere shell; he was never the same again.

Mr. Thomas adds that, by the time it was scrapped, Kingsley was in very bad condition, little more than a shell in fact. In view of the rough usage to which the engine had been subjected, this is not surprising.

1953 April, “Notes and News: Locomotive Notes”, in Railway Magazine, page 283:

(figuratively) The empty outward form of someone or something.

The empty outward form of someone or something.

He's lost so much weight from illness; he's a shell of his former self.

Since coming back from Vietnam; he's been a shell of his former self.

(figuratively) A person otherwise diminished.

Even after months of therapy he's still in his shell.

A psychological barrier to social interaction.

The name "Bash" is an acronym which stands for "Bourne-again shell", itself a pun on the name of the "Bourne shell", an earlier Unix shell designed by Stephen Bourne, and the Christian concept of being "born again".

(computing) An operating system software user interface, whose primary purpose is to launch other programs and control their interactions; the user's command interpreter. Shell is a way to separate the internal complexity of the implementation of the command from the user. The internals can change while the user experience/interface remains the same.

A shell corporation was formed to acquire the old factory.

(business) A legal entity that has no operations.

A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is ground to shape.

(phonology) The onset and coda of a syllable.

Can I have a quick word in your shell?

Chinese (Mandarin) is taught at Westminster from the Lower Shell as an optional subject.

2013, “Chinese (Mandarin)”, in Westminster School, retrieved 2023-12-04:

(British, education) One or more school grades within secondary education, at certain public schools.

a theory shell

a topicality shell

In formal debating, a set of proposed rules to be followed, with set penalties for violating them.

guall

hard calcareous or chitinous external covering of many invertebrates

па́нцыр

entomology: exoskeleton of certain insects

صَدَفة

conjoined scutes that comprise the "shell" of a tortoise or turtle

甲殼

overlapping hard plates comprising the armor covering armadillo's body

дру́за

accreted mineral formed around a hollow geode

արկ

hollow usually spherical or cylindrical projectile fired from a mortar or a cannon

buc

any hollow structure; framework, or exterior structure

blusa

garment with short or no sleeves that often fastens in the rear

lier

music: string instrument, whose acoustical chamber is formed like a shell

hlubotiskový ? válec

engraved copper roller used in print works

pesä

nautical, rigging: outer frame or case of a block within which the sheaves revolve

обви́вка

chemistry: set of atomic orbitals that have the same principal quantum number

قَوْقَعة

psychological barrier to social interaction

skořápka

business: legal entity that has no operations

From Middle English schelle, from Old English sċiell, from Proto-West Germanic *skallju, from Proto-Germanic *skaljō, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cleave”).
Compare West Frisian skyl (“peel, rind”), Dutch schil (“peel, skin, rink”), Low German Schell (“shell, scale”), Irish scelec (“pebble”), Latin silex (“pebble, flint”), siliqua (“pod”), Old Church Slavonic сколика (skolika, “shell”). More at shale.
Doublet of sheal.
* (computing): From being viewed as an outer layer of interface between the user and the operating-system internals.

der

Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, cleave”)

cog

Old Church Slavonic сколика (skolika, “shell”)


shell

To remove the outer covering or shell of something.

The guns shelled the enemy trenches.

There wasn’t even a shed there, and she was shelling the bush.

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 203:

To bombard, to fire projectiles at, especially with artillery.

(informal) To disburse or give up money, to pay. (Often used with out).

(intransitive) To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.

Nuts shell in falling.

Wheat or rye shells in reaping.

(intransitive) To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of the pod or husk.

Automenu is a good program to try, and offers a fair amount of protection - but, unfortunately, it's one of those systems that allow users to shell to DOS.

1993, Robin Nixon, The PC Companion, page 115:

(computing, intransitive) To switch to a shell or command line.

To form shallow, irregular cracks (in a coating).

en-verb

shell (third-person singular simple present shells, present participle shelling, simple past and past participle shelled)

shells (present singular third-person)
shelling (participle present)
shelled (participle past)
shelled (past)

обе́лвам

to remove the outer covering or shell of something

пла́щам

informal: to disburse or give up money, to pay


shell

Craneen t' thee wee aam, thee luggès shell aake.

1867, “VERSES IN ANSWER TO THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 100:

Choking to thee with them. Thy ears shall ache.

From Middle English schal, from Old English sċeal.