9 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Shell \Shell\, noun [OE. shelle, schelle, AS. scell, scyll; akin
to D. shel, Icel. skel, Goth. skalja a tile, and E. skill.
Cf. {Scale} of fishes, {Shale}, {Skill}.]
1. A hard outside covering, as of a fruit or an animal.
Specifically:
(a) The covering, or outside part, of a nut; as, a
hazelnut shell.
(b) A pod.
(c) The hard covering of an egg.
Think him as a serpent's egg, . . .
And kill him in the shell. --Shak.
(d) (Zo["o]l.) The hard calcareous or chitinous external
covering of mollusks, crustaceans, and some other
invertebrates. In some mollusks, as the cuttlefishes,
it is internal, or concealed by the mantle. Also, the
hard covering of some vertebrates, as the armadillo,
the tortoise, and the like.
(e) (Zo["o]l.) Hence, by extension, any mollusks having
such a covering.
2. (Mil.) A hollow projectile, of various shapes, adapted for
a mortar or a cannon, and containing an explosive
substance, ignited with a fuse or by percussion, by means
of which the projectile is burst and its fragments
scattered. See {Bomb}.
3. The case which holds the powder, or charge of powder and
shot, used with breechloading small arms.
4. Any slight hollow structure; a framework, or exterior
structure, regarded as not complete or filled in; as, the
shell of a house.
5. A coarse kind of coffin; also, a thin interior coffin
inclosed in a more substantial one. --Knight.
6. An instrument of music, as a lyre, -- the first lyre
having been made, it is said, by drawing strings over a
tortoise shell.
When Jubal struck the chorded shell. --Dryden.
7. An engraved copper roller used in print works.
8. pl. The husks of cacao seeds, a decoction of which is
often used as a substitute for chocolate, cocoa, etc.
9. (Naut.) The outer frame or case of a block within which
the sheaves revolve.
10. A light boat the frame of which is covered with thin wood
or with paper; as, a racing shell.
11. Something similar in form or action to an ordnance shell;
specif.:
(a) (Fireworks) A case or cartridge containing a charge
of explosive material, which bursts after having been
thrown high into the air. It is often elevated
through the agency of a larger firework in which it
is contained.
(b) (Oil Wells) A torpedo.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
12. A concave rough cast-iron tool in which a convex lens is
ground to shape.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
13. A gouge bit or shell bit.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Message shell}, a bombshell inside of which papers may be
put, in order to convey messages.
{Shell bit}, a tool shaped like a gouge, used with a brace in
boring wood. See {Bit}, noun, 3.
{Shell button}.
(a) A button made of shell.
(b) A hollow button made of two pieces, as of metal, one
for the front and the other for the back, -- often
covered with cloth, silk, etc.
{Shell cameo}, a cameo cut in shell instead of stone.
{Shell flower}. (Bot.) Same as {Turtlehead}.
{Shell gland}. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A glandular organ in which the rudimentary shell is
formed in embryonic mollusks.
(b) A glandular organ which secretes the eggshells of
various worms, crustacea, mollusks, etc.
{Shell gun}, a cannon suitable for throwing shells.
{Shell ibis} (Zo["o]l.), the openbill of India.
{Shell jacket}, an undress military jacket.
{Shell lime}, lime made by burning the shells of shellfish.
{Shell marl} (Min.), a kind of marl characterized by an
abundance of shells, or fragments of shells.
{Shell meat}, food consisting of shellfish, or testaceous
mollusks. --Fuller.
{Shell mound}. See under {Mound}.
{Shell of a boiler}, the exterior of a steam boiler, forming
a case to contain the water and steam, often inclosing
also flues and the furnace; the barrel of a cylindrical,
or locomotive, boiler.
{Shell road}, a road of which the surface or bed is made of
shells, as oyster shells.
{Shell sand}, minute fragments of shells constituting a
considerable part of the seabeach in some places.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Shell \Shell\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Shelled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Shelling}.]
1. To strip or break off the shell of; to take out of the
shell, pod, etc.; as, to shell nuts or pease; to shell
oysters.
2. To separate the kernels of (an ear of Indian corn, wheat,
oats, etc.) from the cob, ear, or husk.
3. To throw shells or bombs upon or into; to bombard; as, to
shell a town.
{To shell out}, to distribute freely; to bring out or pay, as
money. [Colloq.]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Shell \Shell\, verb (used without an object)
1. To fall off, as a shell, crust, etc.
2. To cast the shell, or exterior covering; to fall out of
the pod or husk; as, nuts shell in falling.
3. To be disengaged from the ear or husk; as, wheat or rye
shells in reaping.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
shell
noun
1: ammunition consisting of a cylindrical metal casing
containing an explosive charge and a projectile; fired
from a large gun
2: the material that forms the hard outer covering of many
animals
3: hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as
arthropods and turtles [syn: {carapace}, {cuticle}]
4: the hard usually fibrous outer layer of some fruits
especially nuts
5: the exterior covering of a bird's egg [syn: {eggshell}]
6: a rigid covering that envelops an object; "the satellite is
covered with a smooth shell of ice"
7: a very light narrow racing boat [syn: {racing shell}]
8: the housing or outer covering of something; "the clock has a
walnut case" [syn: {case}, {casing}]
9: a metal sheathing of uniform thickness (such as the shield
attached to an artillery piece to protect the gunners)
[syn: {plate}, {scale}]
10: the hard largely calcareous covering of a mollusc
verb
1: use explosives on; "The enemy has been shelling us all day"
[syn: {blast}]
2: fall out of the pod or husk; "The corn shelled"
3: hit the pitches of hard and regularly; "He shelled the
pitcher for eight runs in the first inning"
4: look for and collect shells by the seashore
5: come out better in a competition, race, or conflict; "Agassi
beat Becker in the tennis championship"; "We beat the
competition"; "Harvard defeated Yale in the last football
game" [syn: {beat}, {beat out}, {crush}, {trounce}, {vanquish}]
6: remove from its shell or outer covering; "shell the
legumes"; "shell mussels"
7: remove the husks from; "husk corn" [syn: {husk}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
304 Moby Thesaurus words for "shell":
Eustachian tube, L, R, acting area, aim at, alveolation, alveolus,
ante up, antrum, anvil, apron, apron stage, armadillo shell,
armature, armor, armor plate, armpit, atom, atomic model, attack,
auditory apparatus, auditory canal, auditory meatus,
auditory nerve, auditory ossicles, auditory tube, auricle,
backstage, ball, ball cartridge, band shell, bandstand, bar shot,
bark, barrage, basilar membrane, basin, bird shot, blank cartridge,
blast, blitz, board, body armor, bomb, bombard, bony labyrinth,
border, bowl, bran, bridge, buckler, buckshot, bullet,
bulletproof vest, cadre, cannon, cannon shot, cannonade,
cannonball, capsule, cartouche, cartridge, case, case shot,
casement, casing, cauliflower ear, cavity, chaff, chain armor,
chain mail, chassis, chitin, chiton, circumference, clam shell,
coat of mail, cochlea, cockleshell, cocoa shell, commence firing,
concave, concavity, conch, concha, corn shuck, cornhusk, cortex,
coulisse, covering, cowrie, crater, crossbar shot, crust, crypt,
cup, decorticate, depression, dip, disburse, dish out, dock,
doorframe, dressing room, drumhead, duck shot, dumdum bullet, ear,
ear lobe, eardrum, eggshell, elytron, endolymph, enfilade,
envelope, epidermis, episperm, eschar, excorticate,
expanding bullet, expend, exterior, external, external ear,
externals, fabric, facade, face, facet, fire a volley, fire at,
fire upon, flies, fly floor, fly gallery, fold, follicle,
forestage, fork out, frame, framework, framing, fringe, front,
funnel chest, fusillade, give out, grape, grapeshot, greenroom,
grid, gridiron, habergeon, hammer, hand out, hand over, harness,
hauberk, hole, hollow, hollow shell, hull, husk, incrustation,
incus, inner ear, integument, ion, jacket, lacuna, langrel shot,
lattice, latticework, lay out, lightboard, limpet, lineaments,
lobe, lobule, lorica, lorication, lug, mail, malleus,
manstopping bullet, mastoid process, middle ear, mortar, needles,
nuclear atom, nuclide, nutshell, open fire, open up on, orchestra,
orchestra pit, organ of Corti, outer ear, outer face, outer layer,
outer side, outer skin, outline, outside, oval window,
oyster shell, palea, panoply, pastry shell, pay out, peel, pellet,
pepper, performing area, pericarp, perilymph, periphery,
periwinkle, picture frame, piecrust, pinna, pit, planetary shell,
plate, plate armor, pocket, pod, pop at, projectile, proscenium,
proscenium stage, protective covering, punch bowl, rake,
rifle ball, rind, round shot, round window, sash, scab, scale,
scallop, scoop, scute, scutum, sea shell, secondary eardrum,
semicircular canals, shell out, shield, shoot, shoot at, shot,
shrapnel, shuck, sink, sinus, skeleton, skin, slough, slug, snipe,
snipe at, socket, spend, spines, split shot, stage, stage left,
stage right, stalactite, stalagmite, stapes, stirrup, strafe,
subshell, suit of armor, superficies, superstratum, surface,
switchboard, tagged atom, take aim at, test, testa, the boards,
thick skin, top, torpedo, tracer, tracer atom, trough,
tympanic cavity, tympanic membrane, tympanum, valence shell,
vestibule, vug, whelk, window case, window frame, wings, winkle,
zero in on
From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:
shell n. [orig. {{Multics}} techspeak, widely propagated via Unix] 1.
[techspeak] The command interpreter used to pass commands to an
operating system; so called because it is the part of the operating
system that interfaces with the outside world. 2. More generally, any
interface program that mediates access to a special resource or {server}
for convenience, efficiency, or security reasons; for this meaning, the
usage is usually 'a shell around' whatever. This sort of program is also
called a 'wrapper'. 3. A skeleton program, created by hand or by another
program (like, say, a parser generator), which provides the necessary
{incantation}s to set up some task and the control flow to drive it (the
term {driver} is sometimes used synonymously). The user is meant to fill
in whatever code is needed to get real work done. This usage is common
in the AI and Microsoft Windows worlds, and confuses Unix hackers.
Historical note: Apparently, the original Multics shell (sense 1) was
so called because it was a shell (sense 3); it ran user programs not by
starting up separate processes, but by dynamically linking the programs
into its own code, calling them as subroutines, and then dynamically
de-linking them on return. The VMS command interpreter still does
something very like this.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
SHELL
An early system on the {Datatron 200} series.
[Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)].
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-05-11)
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
shell
1. (Originally from {Multics}, widely
propagated via {Unix}) The {command interpreter} used to pass
commands to an {operating system}; so called because it is the
part of the operating system that interfaces with the outside
world.
The commonest Unix shells are the c shell ({csh}) and the
Bourne shell ({sh}).
2. (Or "wrapper") Any interface program that mediates access
to a special resource or {server} for convenience, efficiency,
or security reasons; for this meaning, the usage is usually "a
shell around" whatever.
[{Jargon File}]
(1995-05-11)
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
Shell, WY
Zip code(s): 82441
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