Origin of shell

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English scell (north), sciell; cognate with Dutch schil peel, skin, rink, Old Norse skel shell, Gothic skalja tile; (v.) derivative of the noun; cf. shale

OTHER WORDS FROM shell

shell-less, adjective shell-like, adjective de-shell, verb (used with object)

British Dictionary definitions for shell out (1 of 2)

shell out

verb

(adverb) informal to pay out or hand over (money)

Word Origin for shell out

C19: from shell (in the sense: to remove from a pod or (figuratively) a purse)

British Dictionary definitions for shell out (2 of 2)

shell
/ (ʃɛl) /

noun

verb

See also shell out

Derived forms of shell

shell-less, adjective shelly, adjective

Word Origin for shell

Old English sciell; related to Old Norse skel shell, Gothic skalja tile, Middle Low German schelle shell; see scale 1, shale

Scientific definitions for shell out

shell
[ shĕl ]

  1. The usually hard outer covering of certain animals, such as mollusks, insects, and turtles.
  2. The hard outer covering of a bird's egg.
  3. The hard outer covering of a seed, nut, or fruit.
  1. A set of electron orbitals that have nearly the same energy. Electrons in outer shells have greater energy than those in shells closer to the nucleus. Elements in the Periodic Table range from the lightest elements with electrons normally occupying one shell (hydrogen and helium) to the heaviest, with electrons in seven shells (radium and uranium, for instance). See more at atomic spectrum orbital subshell. See Note at metal.
  2. Any of the stable states of other particles or collections of particles (such as the nucleons in an atomic nucleus) at a given energy or small range of energies.

Idioms and Phrases with shell out (1 of 2)

shell out

Pay, hand over, as in We had to shell out $1,000 for auto repairs. This expression transfers taking a seed such as a pea or nut out of its pod or shell to taking money out of one's pocket. [Colloquial; c. 1800]

Idioms and Phrases with shell out (2 of 2)

shell