n. [ AS. scealy, scalu. See Scalme, and cf. Shell. ] 1. A shell or husk; a cod or pod. “The green shales of a bean.” Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. [ G. shale. ] (Geol.) A fine-grained sedimentary rock of a thin, laminated, and often friable, structure. [ 1913 Webster ]
Bituminous shale. See under Bituminous. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. To take off the shell or coat of; to shell. [ 1913 Webster ]
Life, in its upper grades, was bursting its shell, or was shaling off its husk. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]