Soil Definition

soil
soiled, soils
noun
soils
The surface layer of earth, supporting plant life.
Webster's New World
Ground or earth.
Barren soil.
Webster's New World
Land; country; territory.
Native soil.
Webster's New World
Any place for growth or development.
Webster's New World
The agricultural life.
A man of the soil.
American Heritage
verb
soiled, soils
To make dirty, esp. on the surface.
Webster's New World
To smirch or stain.
Webster's New World
To bring disgrace upon.
Webster's New World
To feed (livestock) on soilage.
Webster's New World
To become soiled or dirty.
Webster's New World
Antonyms:
idiom
the soil
  • life and work on a farm
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Soil

Noun

Singular:
soil
Plural:
soils

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Soil

  • the soil

Origin of Soil

  • From Middle English soilen, soulen, suylen (“to sully, make dirty"), partly from Old French soillier, souillier (“to soil, make dirty, wallow in mire"), from Old Frankish *sauljan, *sulljan (“to make dirty, soil"); partly from Old English solian, sylian (“to soil, make dirty"), from Proto-Germanic *sulwōnÄ…, *sulwijanÄ…, *saulijanÄ… (“to soil, make dirty"), from Proto-Indo-European *sÅ«l- (“thick liquid"). Cognate with Old Saxon sulian (“to soil, mire"), Middle Dutch soluwen, seulewen (“to soil, besmirch"), Old High German solagōn, bisullen (“to make dirty"), German dialectal sühlen (“to soil, make dirty"), Danish søle (“to make dirty, defile"), Swedish söla (“to soil, make dirty"), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bisauljan, “to bemire").

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English soile, soyle, sule (“ground, earth"), partly from Anglo-Norman soyl (“bottom, ground, pavement"), from Latin solium (“seat, threshold, place"), mistaken for Latin solum (“ground, foundation, earth, sole of the foot"); and partly from Old English sol (“mud, mire, wet sand"), from Proto-Germanic *sulÄ… (“mud, spot"), from Proto-Indo-European *sÅ«l- (“thick liquid"). Cognate with Middle Low German söle (“dirt, mud"), Middle Dutch sol (“dirt, filth"), Middle High German sol, söl (“dirt, mud, mire"), Danish søle (“mud, muck"). See also sole, soal.

    From Wiktionary

  • From Middle English soyl, from Old French soil, souil (“quagmire, marsh"), from Frankish *sōlja, *saulja (“mire, miry place, wallow"), from Proto-Germanic *sauljō (“mud, puddle, feces"), from Proto-Indo-European *sÅ«l- (“thick liquid"). Cognate with Old English syle, sylu, sylen (“miry place, wallow"), Old High German sol, gisol (“miry place"), German Suhle (“a wallow, mud pit, muddy pool").

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English soilen from Old French souiller from Vulgar Latin suculāre (from Late Latin suculus) (diminutive of Latin sūs pig sū- in Indo-European roots) or from souil wallow of a wild boar (from Latin solium seat, bathtub soil1)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Anglo-Norman a piece of ground (influenced in meaning by Latin solum soil) from Latin solium seat sed- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Old French saoler, saouler (“to satiate").

    From Wiktionary

  • Origin unknown

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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