shoful

S1H4O1F4U1L1

noun

A Hansom cab.

OriginGerman Schofel ← Hebrew שפל →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounshoful (countable and uncountable, plural shofuls)

plural shofuls · alternative schofel

  1. UKcountableobsoleteslangA Hansom cab.
  2. UKobsoleteslanguncountableCounterfeit money.

    To discover […] how the honest poor are compelled to hob-and-nob with the “shoful pitcher” and the “gun,” it is necessary to visit the vast nursery-grounds of crime.

    1863, Blanchard Jerrold, Signals of Distress in Refuges and Homes of Charity (etc.), page 2

Origin

  1. Hebrewשפל“low”
  2. GermanSchofel“worthless stuff, rubbish”
  3. Englishshoful

From German Schofel (“worthless stuff, rubbish”), substantive use of schofel (“base, mean, worthless”), representing the German-Jewish pronunciation of Hebrew שפל (shāphēl, “low”).

More words from German, Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shoful. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoful

MLA

“shoful.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoful. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shoful,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shoful.

Source: shoful on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.