GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   Shale , n. [AS. scealy, scalu. See Scalme, and cf. Shell.]
   A shell or husk; a cod or pod. “The green shales of a bean.” 
   Chapman.
   
   1913 Webster
   [G. shale.] (Geol.) A fine-grained sedimentary rock of a thin, laminated, and often friable, structure.
   1913 Webster
   Bituminous shale. See under Bituminous.
   1913 Webster
   
         
       

2.       
   Shale, v. t. To take off the shell or coat of; to shell.
   1913 Webster
   Life, in its upper grades, was bursting its shell, or was shaling off its husk.
   I. Taylor.
   
   1913 Webster