SHALE
What does "SHALE" mean?
A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from compacted mud and clay that splits into thin layers.
Meanings
- A laminated sedimentary rock made of compressed clay and silt that splits readily along bedding planes. The cliff was banded in grey shale that flaked off in our hands.
Did you know?
- Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations was central to the U.S. overtaking Russia as the world's top natural gas producer by 2011.
Word origin
From Old English 'scealu', a shell or husk, related to German 'Schale' (shell, peel); the geological sense reflects the rock's tendency to split into thin flakes like a husk.
Remember it
SHALE = SH + ALE: the rock that splits as cleanly as a head of foam off a glass.
A little poem
Mud that waited long-
pressed by a sea long since gone
into pages of stone.
haiku
Wordplay
- Shale told the granite to stop being so dense - but it just couldn't take the pressure.
What it teaches
Soft mud, given enough time and weight, becomes the thing that holds a cliff together.
Quick facts
What does SHALE mean?
A fine-grained sedimentary rock formed from compacted mud and clay that splits into thin layers.
Is SHALE a valid word?
Yes — SHALE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is SHALE?
SHALE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does SHALE come from?
From Old English 'scealu', a shell or husk, related to German 'Schale' (shell, peel); the geological sense reflects the rock's tendency to split into thin flakes like a husk.
What can SHALE teach us?
Soft mud, given enough time and weight, becomes the thing that holds a cliff together.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.