English
shelfback
From shelf + back.
Proto-Indo-European *(s)kel(H)-p-
Proto-Germanic *skelfō ‘crag, cliff’
Proto-West Germanic *skelfu:
Proto-West Germanic *skilfijā
Old English sċylfe
Middle English schelfe ‘a shelf or ledge’
English shelf
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to break’
Proto-Germanic *baką ‘back, rear’
Proto-West Germanic *bak
Old English bæc
Middle English bak ‘the back, hind, or rear of a being's body’
English back
Today it means
noun The vertical surface forming the back of a shelf.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / shelfback