Shelf'y adjective 1. Abounding in shelves; full of dangerous shallows. 'A shelfy coast.' Dryden. 2. Full of strata of rock. [ Obsolete] « The tillable fields are in some places . . . so shelfy that the corn hath much ado to fasten its root.» Care... Found on http://www.encyclo.co.uk/webster/S/85