Meanings
plural nutshells
- The shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut.
For men be now tratlers and tellers of tales; What tidings at Totnam, what newis in Wales, What ſhippis are ſailing to Scalis Malis? And all is not worth a couple of nut ſhalis.
c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c. - A short book summarizing an area of law.
- nauticalA small boat; a boat considered small in comparison to the seas.
[A]t last the fishing-line stood straight out behind, and the stone weights jumped along the tops of the billows, while the seas - notwithstanding the guiding hand of the pilot sought to avoid them - broke over our little nutshell, and sent the spray high above mast and sail.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 182
present singular third person nutshells · participle present nutshelling · participle past nutshelled · past nutshelled
- transitiveTo summarize.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*hnutskallju
- Old Englishhnutsċiell
- Middle Englishnotschelle
- Englishnutshell
From Middle English notschelle, from Old English hnutsċiell, from Proto-West Germanic *hnutskallju, equivalent to nut + shell. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Nuteskele, Nuteskil (“nutshell”), Dutch notenschaal (“nutshell”), German Nussschale (“nutshell”). The verb, as well as the legal book sense, is in reference to the phrase in a nutshell (“summarized”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan closca de nou
- closca de nouthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Chinese Mandarin 堅果殼 /坚果壳
- 堅果殼 /坚果壳 (jiānguǒ qiào, jiānguǒ ké)the shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Danish nøddeskal
- nøddeskalthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Dutch notendop
- notendopthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Finnish pähkinänkuori
- pähkinänkuorithe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
French coque, coquille
- coquethe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
- coquillethe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
German Nussschale
- Nussschalethe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Hungarian dióhéj
- dióhéjthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Indonesian kulit kacang
- kulit kacangthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Irish blaosc cnó
- blaosc cnóthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Italian guscio di noce
- guscio di nocethe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Japanese 木の実の殻
- 木の実の殻 (kinomi no kara)the shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Latin naucum
- naucumthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Norwegian Bokmål nøtteskall
- nøtteskallthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Portuguese casca de noz
- casca de nozthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Russian оре́ховая скорлупа́
- оре́ховая скорлупа́ (oréxovaja skorlupá)the shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Spanish cáscara de nuez
- cáscara de nuezthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Swedish nötskal
- nötskalthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Ukrainian шкаралупа горіха
- шкаралупа горіха (škaralupa horixa)the shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Welsh plisg, masgl
- plisgthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
- masglthe shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut
Cite this entry
nutshell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nutshell
“nutshell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nutshell. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nutshell,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nutshell.
Source: nutshell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.