Meanings
nounshellie (plural shellies)
plural shellies
- informalA small or miniature shell.
As you would expect, the first shelled organisms acquired a shell in small steps, forming tiny (less than 1 mm) hard parts nicknamed "little shellies" or "small shellies."
2023, Kate LoMedico Marriott, Alexander Bartholomew, Donald R. Prothero, Evolution of the Ammonoids, page 60
Origin
From shell + -ie (diminutive suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
shellie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellie
MLA
“shellie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellie. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shellie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shellie.
Source: shellie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.