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shoal

 - 8 dictionary results

shoal

1  [shohl]
Use shoal in a Sentence
–noun
1. a place where a sea, river, or other body of water is shallow.
2. a sandbank or sand bar in the bed of a body of water, esp. one that is exposed above the surface of the water at low tide.
–adjective
3. of little depth, as water; shallow.
–verb (used without object)
4. to become shallow or more shallow.
–verb (used with object)
5. to cause to become shallow.
6. Nautical. to sail so as to lessen the depth of (the water under a vessel).
Origin:
bef. 900; (adj.) ME (Scots) shald, OE sceald shallow; (n. and v.) deriv. of the adj.

Synonyms:
1. shallow, rapid, riffle. 2. reef.

shoal

2  [shohl]
–noun
1. any large number of persons or things.
2. a school of fish.
–verb (used without object)
3. to collect in a shoal; throng.
Origin:
1570–80; earlier shole, prob. < MD, MLG schōle, with sound-substitution of sh- for LG skh-; cf. school 2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shoal
shoal 1   (shōl)   
n.  

  1. A shallow place in a body of water.

  2. A sandy elevation of the bottom of a body of water, constituting a hazard to navigation; a sandbank or sandbar.

v.   shoaled, shoal·ing, shoals

v.   intr.
To become shallow: The river shoals suddenly here from eight to two fathoms.
v.   tr.

  1. To make shallow: The approach to the harbor was shoaled in the storm.

  2. To come or sail into a shallower part of.

adj.  Having little depth; shallow.

[Middle English shold, shallow, shallows, from Old English sceald, shallow.]
shoal 2   (shōl)   
n.  

  1. A large group; a crowd.

  2. A large school of fish or other marine animals.

intr.v.   shoaled, shoal·ing, shoals
To come together in large numbers; throng.

[Probably Middle Low German or Middle Dutch schōle; see skel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

shoal  (1)
"place of shallow water," c.1300, from O.E. schealde (adj.), from sceald "shallow," from P.Gmc. *skala- (cf. Swed. skäll "thin;" Low Ger. schol, Fris. skol "not deep"). The terminal -d was dropped 16c.

shoal  (2)
"large number" (especially of fish), 1579, apparently identical with O.E. scolu "band, troop, school of fish," but perhaps rather a 16c. adoption of cognate M.Du. schole, both from P.Gmc. *skulo- (cf. O.S. scola "multitude," W.Fris. skoal), perhaps with a lit. sense of "division," from PIE base *skel- "to divide." Related to school "a crowd of fish" (q.v.). For possible sense development, cf. section from L. secare "to cut."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Science Dictionary
shoal   (shōl)  Pronunciation Key 
A submerged mound or ridge of sediment in a body of shallow water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

shoal

accumulation of sediment in a river channel or on a continental shelf that is potentially dangerous to ships. On the continental shelf it is conventionally taken to be less than 10 m (33 feet) below water level at low tide. Shoals are formed by essentially the same factors that produce offshore bars. See sandbar.

Learn more about shoal with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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