shale
[ sheyl ]
/ ʃeɪl /
noun
a rock of fissile or laminated structure formed by the consolidation of clay or argillaceous material.
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CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THIS MIDDLE SCHOOL PART OF SPEECH QUIZ!
How well do you know your adjectives from your adverbs? Your preposition from your pronouns? Your interjections from your conjunctions? Let’s put your knowledge of parts of speech to the text!
Note: Many of the following questions will ask you to identify the parts of speech “in order.” That means the first word in all capital letters will correspond to the first option in an answer, and so on.
Question 1 of 10
In order, what parts of speech are the words in all capital letters? Alisa was VERY tired, SO she decided to go to bed.
Origin of shale
1740–50; origin uncertain; compare obsolete shale to split (said of stone), to shell, derivative of shale shell, husk, Old English scealu shell, husk; see scale2
OTHER WORDS FROM shale
shale·like, shal·ey, adjectiveWords nearby shale
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for shale
British Dictionary definitions for shale
shale
/ (ʃeɪl) /
noun
a dark fine-grained laminated sedimentary rock formed by compression of successive layers of clay-rich sediment
Derived forms of shale
shaly, adjectiveWord Origin for shale
Old English scealu shell; compare German Schalstein laminated limestone; see scale 1, scale ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Scientific definitions for shale
shale
[ shāl ]
A fine-grained sedimentary rock consisting of compacted and hardened clay, silt, or mud. Shale forms in many distinct layers and splits easily into thin sheets or slabs. It varies in color from black or gray to brown or red.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for shale
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.