shelfbreak

S1H4E1L1F4B3R1E1A1K5

noun

An area of increasing slope that marks the edge of a continental shelf.

OriginEnglish break ← Middle English breken ← Old English brecan →
Scrabble 22
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Meanings

nounshelfbreak (plural shelfbreaks)

plural shelfbreaks · alternative shelf break

  1. An area of increasing slope that marks the edge of a continental shelf.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kel(H)-p-
  3. Proto-Germanic*skelfō
  4. Proto-West Germanic*skelfu:
  5. Proto-West Germanic*skilfijā
  6. Old Englishsċylfe?
  7. Middle Englishschelfe
  8. Englishshelf
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*bʰrégeti
  11. Proto-Germanic*brekaną
  12. Proto-West Germanic*brekan
  13. Old Englishbrecan
  14. Middle Englishbreken
  15. Englishbreak
  16. Englishshelfbreak

From shelf + break.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shelfbreak. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shelfbreak

MLA

“shelfbreak.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shelfbreak. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shelfbreak,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shelfbreak.

Source: shelfbreak on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.