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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Shĕlf, n.

noun

n.; pl. SHĒLVES. [A-S. scelfe, schylfe.]

  1. A board, or platform of boards or planks, elevated above the floor, and fixed or set horizontally on a frame, or contiguous to a wall, for holding vessels, utensils, books, and the like; a ledge.
  2. A sand-bank in the sea, or a rock, or ledge of rocks, rendering the water shallow and dangerous to ships. “On the tawny sands and shelves.” Milton. “On the secret shelves with fury cast.” Dryden.
  3. (Mining.) A stratum lying in a very even manner; a flat, projecting layer of rock.