soil definition

English soil definition

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔɪl/, [sɔɪ̯ɫ]

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔɪl

Etymology 1

From Middle English soile, soyle, sule (“ground, earth”), partly from Anglo-Norman soyl (“bottom, ground, pavement”), from Latin solium (“seat, chair; throne”), mistaken for Latin solum (“ground, foundation, earth, sole of the foot”); and partly from Old English sol (“mud, mire, wet sand”), from Proto-Germanic *sulą (“mud, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“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”). Compare French seuil (“level; threshold”) and sol (“soil, earth; ground”). See also sole, soal, solum.

Alternative forms

• soyl (obsolete)

Noun

soil (countable and uncountable, plural soils)

1. (uncountable) A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth.

   We bought a bag of soil for the houseplants.

2. (uncountable) The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
3. (uncountable) The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of time. A product-soil differs from the material from which it is derived in many physical, chemical, biological, and morphological properties and characteristics.
4. Country or territory.
   • 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major

     Except during the season in town, she spends her year in golfing, either at St Magnus or Pau, for, like all good Americans, she has long since abjured her native soil.

   • 2020 October 27, Phoonphongphiphat, Apornrath; Masayuki, Yuda, “Thailand protesters query German embassy on absent king”, in Nikkei Asia‎^[1], Nikkei Inc, retrieved 2020-10-27:

     Pro-democracy demonstrations in the Thai capital saw Germany's embassy become the focus Monday as the throngs of protesters gathered in front of the mission asked Berlin to investigate whether King Maha Vajiralongkorn is inappropriately conducting state business on German soil.

5. That which soils or pollutes; a stain.
   • 1690, John Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: A Tragedy Acted at the Theatre Royal, London: Jo. Hindmarſh, Act V, page 118:

     And ſince not only a dead Fathers fame, / But more a Ladies honour muſt be touch’d, / Which nice as Ermines will not bear a Soil ; / Let all retire ; that you alone may hear / What ev’n in whiſpers I won’d tell your ear.

6. A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.
   • 1603, John Marston; John Webster, The Malcontent, Act III, scene i:

     As Deere being ſtrucke flie thorow many ſoiles, / Yet ſtill the ſhaft ſitcks faſt, ſo ;

7. Dung; compost; manure.

   night soil

   • 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, “Of Manuring, Dunging, and Soiling of Land”, in The Whole Art of Husbandry; Or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land, 2nd edition, London: J. H. for H. Mortlock, and J. Robinſon, published 1708, page 66:

     HAving given you an Account of the way of ordering of Meadows, Paſtures and Arable Land, with ſeveral Sorts of Improvement of them ; I ſhall in the next place proceed to give an Account of the ſeveral ways uſed to improve Land by Manure, Dung, and other Sort of Soils.

Synonyms

• (senses 1 to 3): dirt (US), earth

Derived terms

Related terms

• solum

Translations

See also

• alluvium

Etymology 2

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 *sulwōną, *sulwijaną, *saulijaną (“to soil, make dirty”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“thick liquid”). Cognate with Old Frisian sulia (“to soil, mire”), Middle Dutch soluwen, seulewen (“to soil, besmirch”), Old High German solōn, bisulen (“to make dirty”), German suhlen (“to soil, make dirty”), Danish søle (“to make dirty, defile”), Swedish söla (“to soil, make dirty”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bisauljan, “to bemire”). Compare sully.

Verb

soil (third-person singular simple present soils, present participle soiling, simple past and past participle soiled)

1. (transitive) To make dirty.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VIII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554, lines 1073–1080:

     […] Bad Fruit of Knowledge, if this be to know, / Which leaves us naked thus, of Honour void, / Of innocence, of Faith, of Puritie, / Our wonted Ornaments now ſoild and ſtaind, / And in our Faces evident the ſignes / Of foul concupiſcence ; whence eveil ſtore ; / Even ſhame, the laſt of evils ; of the firſt / Be ſure then.

2. (intransitive) To become dirty or soiled.

   Light colours soil sooner than dark ones.

3. (transitive, figuratively) To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, OCLC 760858814, [Act I, scene iv]:

     […] They clip vs drunkards, and with Swiniſh phraſe / Soyle our addition, and indeede it takes / From our atchieuements, though perform’d at height / The pith and marrow of our attribute […]

4. (reflexive) To dirty one's clothing by accidentally defecating while clothed.

   The child was so scared she soiled herself.

5. To make invalid, to ruin.
6. To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.
   • 1676 April 30, Robert South, “A Sermon Preached at Westminster Abbey”, in Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume I, New York: Hurd and Houghton, published 1866, page 176:

     For to be kind to the former is traffic ; and in these times men present, just as they soil their ground, not that they love the dirt, but that they expect a crop : and for the latter, the politician well approves of the Indian’s religion, in worshiping the devil, that he may do him no hurt ; how much soever he hates him, and is hated by him.

Synonyms

• (to make dirty): smirch, besmirch, dirty

Derived terms

• soil oneself
• soilage (“act of soiling; condition of being soiled”)

Translations

Noun

soil (plural soils)

1. (uncountable, euphemistic) Faeces or urine etc. when found on clothes.
2. (countable, medicine) A bag containing soiled items.

Synonyms

• (faeces or urine etc.): dirt

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English soyl, from Old French soil, souil (“quagmire, marsh”), from Frankish *sōlja, *saulja (“mire, miry place, wallow”), from Proto-Germanic *saulijō (“mud, puddle, feces”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“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”).

Noun

soil (plural soils)

1. A wet or marshy place in which a boar or other such game seeks refuge when hunted.

Etymology 4

From Old French saoler, saouler (“to satiate”).

Verb

soil (third-person singular simple present soils, present participle soiling, simple past and past participle soiled)

1. To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an enclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (due to such food having the effect of purging them) to purge by feeding on green food.

   to soil a horse

Derived terms

• soilage (“fresh-cut forage”)

References

• soil in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• LOIs, Lois, Sol I, oils, silo, soli

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Basque soil definition

Etymology

Unknown.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s̺oi̯l/, [s̺o̞i̯l]

Adjective

soil (comparative soilago, superlative soilen, excessive soilegi)

1. bald
2. bare, simple
3. barren
4. (Navarro-Lapurdian) only, unique

Declension

Declension of soil (animate and inanimate, ending in consonant)
		indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive		soil	soila	soilak
ergative		soilek	soilak	soilek
dative		soili	soilari	soilei
genitive		soilen	soilaren	soilen
comitative		soilekin	soilarekin	soilekin
causative		soilengatik	soilarengatik	soilengatik
benefactive		soilentzat	soilarentzat	soilentzat
instrumental		soilez	soilaz	soilez
inessive	anim.	soilengan	soilarengan	soilengan
	inanim.	soiletan	soilean	soiletan
locative	anim.	—	—	—
	inanim.	soiletako	soileko	soiletako
allative	anim.	soilengana	soilarengana	soilengana
	inanim.	soiletara	soilera	soiletara
terminative	anim.	soilenganaino	soilarenganaino	soilenganaino
	inanim.	soiletaraino	soileraino	soiletaraino
directive	anim.	soilenganantz	soilarenganantz	soilenganantz
	inanim.	soiletarantz	soilerantz	soiletarantz
destinative	anim.	soilenganako	soilarenganako	soilenganako
	inanim.	soiletarako	soilerako	soiletarako
ablative	anim.	soilengandik	soilarengandik	soilengandik
	inanim.	soiletatik	soiletik	soiletatik
partitive		soilik	—	—
prolative		soiltzat	—	—

Derived terms

Adverb

soil (comparative soilago, superlative soilen, excessive soilegi)

1. alone, empty
2. completely, very

See also

• burusoil

References

Further reading

• soil in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus
• “soil” in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia, euskaltzaindia.eus

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Rohingya soil definition

Etymology

Cognate with Assamese চাউল (saul), Bengali চাল (cal), Hindi चावल (cāval)

Noun

soil

1. rice