Shelly Meaning
/ˈʃɛli/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjComposed of the shells of dead marine creatures
nameA surname from Old English, variant of Shelley.
Sentence Examples
Shelly's really filled out since the last time I saw her.
The beach was covered in shelly sand and small pebbles.
CEFR Practice Quiz
We walked barefoot on the ____ sand full of broken seashells.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The geological layers contained ____ deposits that indicated the area was once deep underwater.
Word Origin & History
From shell + -y.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"After all, we live today in an unusual world: sea level is low, the continents are dispersed, ice occupies the poles, and the shelly fauna of the oceans is composed largely of aragonite rather than calcite."
— 2000 June 16, Karl W. Flessa, “Learning from the Dead”, in Science, volume 288, number 5473, →DOI, pages 1971–1972:
"the shelly shore"
— 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Solomon on the Vanity of the World. A Poem in Three Books.”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC, (please specify the page):
"Shrined are your offspring in a chrystal cradle, / Brighter than Helen's ere she yet had burst / Her shelly prison."
— 1818, Charles Lamb, “On the Sight of Swans in Kensington Garden”, in The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb:
"It is seen commonly in connection with flat-foot, and where the horn of the wall is thin and shelly."
— 1906, Harry Caulton Reeks, Diseases of the Horse's Foot:
"the snail, whose tender horns being hit
Shrinks backward in his shelly cave."
— 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
We walked barefoot on the ____ sand full of broken seashells.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The geological layers contained ____ deposits that indicated the area was once deep underwater.