soil

soil · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sūl-“thick liquid”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sulą“mud, spot”
3. Old English · inherited fromsol“mud, mire, wet sand”
4. Latin · derived fromsolum“ground, foundation, earth, sole of the foot”
5. Latin · derived fromsolium“seat, chair; throne”
6. Anglo-Norman · derived fromsoyl“bottom, ground, pavement”
7. Middle English · inherited fromsoile
8. English todaysoil

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).

soil · verb, noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sūl-“thick liquid”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*sulwōną
3. Old English · inherited fromsolian
4. Frankish · derived from*saulijan
5. Old French · derived fromsoillier
6. Middle English · inherited fromsoilen
7. English todaysoil

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 *saulijan, *sulwijan (“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.

soil · noun³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*sūl-“thick liquid”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*saulijō“mud, puddle, feces”
3. Frankish · derived from*sōlja
4. Old French · derived fromsoil
5. Middle English · inherited fromsoyl
6. English todaysoil

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”).

soil · verb⁴

1. Old French · derived fromsaoler
2. English todaysoil

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

Words from the same roots