Link Centre Dictionary

soil

UK/sɔɪl/ US/sɔɪ̯ɫ/ common
noun (4) verb (1)

noun

1.
2.

the part of the earth''s surface consisting of humus and disintegrated rock

Synonyms
3.

material in the top layer of the surface of the earth in which plants can grow (especially with reference to its quality or use)

  • “the land had never been plowed”
  • “good agricultural soil”
Synonyms
4.

the geographical area under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state

  • “American troops were stationed on Japanese soil”
Synonyms

verb

1.

make soiled, filthy, or dirty

  • “don”
Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

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. For the sole and soil relation, compare typologically Russian по́чва (póčva) akin to подо́шва (podóšva).

Phrases

  • ABC soil
  • black cotton soil
  • blood and soil
  • desert soil
  • fill soil
  • garden soil
  • green soil
  • home soil
  • soil one's pants
  • soil oneself

Related words

Word family

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.