Life, in its upper grades, was bursting its shell, or was shaling off its husk. --I. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
Shale — (also called mudstone) is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clay minerals or muds. It is characterized by thin laminae [cite encyclopedia title = shale encyclopedia = Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology… … Wikipedia
Shalë — Shalë … Wikipedia Español
Shale — Shale, n. [AS. scealy, scalu. See {Scalme}, and cf. {Shell}.] 1. A shell or husk; a cod or pod. The green shales of a bean. Chapman. [1913 Webster] 2. [G. shale.] (Geol.) A fine grained sedimentary rock of a thin, laminated, and often friable,… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
shale — [ʃeıl] n [U] [: Old English; Origin: scealu shell, scale ] a smooth soft rock which breaks easily into thin flat pieces … Dictionary of contemporary English
shale — [ ʃeıl ] noun uncount a type of smooth dark rock that breaks into thin layers … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
shale — (n.) 1747, possibly a specialized use of M.E. schale shell, husk, pod (late 14c.), also fish scale, from O.E. scealu (see SHELL (Cf. shell)) in its base sense of thing that divides or separate, in reference to the way the rock breaks apart in… … Etymology dictionary
shale — ► NOUN ▪ soft stratified sedimentary rock formed from consolidated mud or clay. DERIVATIVES shaly (also shaley) adjective. ORIGIN probably from German Schale … English terms dictionary
shale — [shāl] n. [< ME, lit., shell < OE scealu, SHELL] a kind of fine grained, thinly bedded sedimentary rock formed largely by the hardening of clay: it splits easily into thin layers: cf. MUDSTONE … English World dictionary
shale — shalelike, shaley, adj. /shayl/, n. a rock of fissile or laminated structure formed by the consolidation of clay or argillaceous material. [1740 50; orig. uncert.; cf. obs. shale to split (said of stone), to shell, deriv. of shale shell, husk, OE … Universalium
Shale — A type of sedimentary rock found in the earth s crust composed chiefly of a combination of silt and clay. A great deal of the earth s usable fossil fuels are found in shale formations. There are many different types of shale, such as oil shale… … Investment dictionary
