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shale

(shāl)

A fissile rock composed of layers of claylike, fine-grained sediments.

[Probably from Middle English, shell, from Old English scealu; see skel-¹ in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

shaley adj.

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shale

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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