Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
shell-like. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
shell-like, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
shell-like in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
shell-like you have here. The definition of the word
shell-like will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
shell-like, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From shell + -like.
Pronunciation
Adjective
shell-like (comparative more shell-like, superlative most shell-like)
- Having a similar shape to a seashell.
- (literary, dated) Of the external ear, resembling the graceful convolutions of a seashell.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:"Nay, speak not so hastily; consider well the point; take me feature by feature, forgetting not my form, and my hands and feet, and my hair, and the whiteness of my skin, and then tell me truly, hast thou ever known a woman who in aught, ay, in one little portion of her beauty, in the curve of an eyelash even, or the modelling of a shell-like ear, is justified to hold a light before my loveliness?"
Usage notes
- shell-like is several times more common than shelllike in print.[1] GPO manual recommends using a hyphen to avoid a triple consonant.[2]
Noun
shell-like (plural shell-likes)
- (slang, British, Australia, especially in set phrases) The ear.
Can I have a quick word in your shell-like, when you've got a moment?
References