Shale Definition

shāl
noun
A kind of fine-grained, thinly bedded sedimentary rock formed largely by the hardening of clay: it splits easily into thin layers.
Webster's New World
A shell or husk; a cod or pod.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
verb
To take off the shell or coat of.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Shale

Noun

Singular:
shale
Plural:
shales

Origin of Shale

  • Middle English schale 'shell, husk; scale', from Old English scealu 'shell, husk, pod', from Proto-Germanic *skalō (compare West Frisian skaal 'dish', Dutch schaal 'shell', German Schale 'husk, pod'), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelo- 'split, cleaved' (compare Lithuanian skalà 'splinter', Old Church Slavonic skala 'rock, stone', Albanian halë 'fish bone, splinter', Sanskrit kalá 'small part'), from *(s)kel- 'to split, cleave' (compare Hittite iškalla 'to tear apart, slit open', Lithuanian skélti 'to split', Ancient Greek skállein 'to hoe, harrow').

    From Wiktionary

  • Probably from Middle English shell from Old English scealu skel-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Shale Sentence Examples

  • This time, she paid no attention to the shale or placing her feet right.

  • The scraping of leather against leather, the hollow clatter of stone and shale, the rustle of whatever creature settled behind her.

  • They were forced to slow their pace when the trail became covered with slippery shale and the path grew steeper.

  • They are at a depth of about 12 ft., in slaty shale containing Llandeilo fossils and contemporaneous felspathic ash and scoriae.

  • Romney shale 1000f 300

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Find Similar Words

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Words Starting With

SSHSHA

Words Ending With

ELEALE

Unscrambles

shale

Words Starting With S and Ending With E

Starts With S & Ends With EStarts With SH & Ends With EStarts With S & Ends With LE

Word Length

5 Letter Words5 Letter Words Starting With S5 Letter Words Ending With E