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Glite Dictionary
shelly

shelly

1 5.1
Having many small shells or a surface like broken shells
  • adjective
  • /ˈʃɛli/
: conchoso
  • We walked along a shelly beach where fragments of shells crunched underfoot.

Examples

  • The geologist examined the shelly limestone for evidence of ancient sea life.

  • The artist used shelly textures to create a realistic ocean scene.

  • The shelly surface of the beach was beautiful.

  • I found a shelly rock while hiking.

  • We walked along a shelly beach where fragments of shells crunched underfoot.

  • The geologist examined the shelly limestone for evidence of ancient sea life.

  • The artist used shelly textures to create a realistic ocean scene.

Surface Forms

shelly positive

Morphology

shelly = shell (transparent) = shell + y

The adjective is a regular formation '-y' meaning 'having or resembling shells', so a learner who knows 'shell' can derive the meaning.

Etymology

Shelly comes from the simple word shell plus the small ending -y, where shell is the hard outer part of sea animals and -y means 'full of' or 'like'. So shelly means 'like a shell' or 'having shells', which is why we use it for beaches, rocks, or textures that look or feel as if they contain shells.