soil definition | Dictionary.com

soil

1 [soil]

–noun

1.	the portion of the earth's surface consisting of disintegrated rock and humus.

2.	a particular kind of earth: sandy soil.

3.	the ground as producing vegetation or as cultivated for its crops: fertile soil.

4.	a country, land, or region: an act committed on American soil.

5.	the ground or earth: tilling the soil.

6.	any place or condition providing the opportunity for growth or development: Some believe that poverty provides the soil for crime.

Origin:
1300–50; ME soile < AF soyl < L solium seat, confused with solum ground

Related forms:

soilless, adjective

NO-SALT Water Softener
Whole House Electronic Conditioner/ Descaler System. Free S&H. Now $295
www.equinox-products.com

Western Materials
Sand-Gravel-Rock-Base-DG-Fill 25+Yrs-Reliable-OnTime-Good Prices

www.westernmaterials.net

soil

2 [soil]

–verb (used with object)

1.	to make unclean, dirty, or filthy, esp. on the surface: to soil one's clothes.

2.	to smirch, smudge, or stain: The ink soiled his hands.

3.	to sully or tarnish, as with disgrace; defile morally: to soil one's good name.

–verb (used without object)

4.	to become soiled: White soils easily.

–noun

5.	the act or fact of soiling.

6.	the state of being soiled.

7.	a spot, mark, or stain.

8.	dirty or foul matter; filth; sewage.

9.	ordure; manure.

Origin:
1175–1225; ME soilen (v.) < OF souiller, soillier to dirty < VL *suculāre, equiv. to sū(s) pig + -cul(us) -cle ¹ + -āre inf. ending

Synonyms:
3. blacken, taint, debase.

soil

3 [soil]

–verb (used with object)

to feed (confined cattle, horses, etc.) freshly cut green fodder for roughage.

Origin:
1595–1605; orig. uncert.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source

Link To soil

soil¹ (soil)

The top layer of the earth's surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic matter.
A particular kind of earth or ground: sandy soil.
Country; land: native soil.
The agricultural life: a man of the soil.
A place or condition favorable to growth; a breeding ground.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, a piece of ground (influenced in meaning by Latin solum, soil), from Latin solium, seat; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]

soil² (soil)

v. soiled, soil·ing, soils

v. tr.

To make dirty, particularly on the surface.
To disgrace; tarnish: a reputation soiled by scandal.
To corrupt; defile.
To dirty with excrement.

v. intr.
To become dirty, stained, or tarnished.
n.

1. The state of being soiled.
2. A stain.
Filth, sewage, or refuse.
Manure, especially human excrement, used as fertilizer.

[Middle English soilen, from Old French souiller, from Vulgar Latin *suculāre (from Late Latin suculus, diminutive of Latin sūs, pig; see sū- in Indo-European roots) or from souil, pigsty, wallow (from Latin solium, seat; see soil¹).]

soil³ (soil)

tr.v. soiled, soil·ing, soils

To feed (livestock) with soilage.
To purge (livestock) by feeding with green food.

[Origin unknown.]

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

Soil

Soil\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Soiling.] [OF. saoler, saouler, to satiate, F. so[^u]ler, L. satullare, fr. satullus, dim. of satur sated. See Satire.] To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an inclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food; as, to soil a horse.

Soil

Soil\, n. [OE. soile, F. sol, fr. L. solum bottom, soil; but the word has probably been influenced in form by soil a miry place. Cf. Saloon, Soil a miry place, Sole of the foot.]

1. The upper stratum of the earth; the mold, or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment to plants, or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them.

2. Land; country.

Must I thus leave thee, Paradise? thus leave Thee, native soil? --Milton.

3. Dung; f[ae]ces; compost; manure; as, night soil.

Improve land by dung and other sort of soils. --Mortimer.

Soil pipe, a pipe or drain for carrying off night soil.

Soil

Soil\, v. t. To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.

Men . . . soil their ground, not that they love the dirt, but that they expect a crop. --South.

Soil

Soil\, n. [OF. soil, souil, F. souille, from OF. soillier, F. souiller. See Soil to make dirty.] 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.

As deer, being stuck, fly through many soils, Yet still the shaft sticks fast. --Marston.

To take soil, to run into the mire or water; hence, to take refuge or shelter.

O, sir, have you taken soil here? It is well a man may reach you after three hours' running. --B. Jonson.

Soil

Soil\, v. t.[OE. soilen, OF. soillier, F. souiller, (assumed) LL. suculare, fr. L. sucula a little pig, dim. of sus a swine. See Sow, n.]

1. To make dirty or unclean on the surface; to foul; to dirty; to defile; as, to soil a garment with dust.

Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained. --Milton.

2. To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully. --Shak.

Syn: To foul; dirt; dirty; begrime; bemire; bespatter; besmear; daub; bedaub; stain; tarnish; sully; defile; pollute.

Soil

Soil\, v. i. To become soiled; as, light colors soil sooner than dark ones.

Soil

Soil\, n. [See Soil to make dirty, Soil a miry place.] That which soils or pollutes; a soiled place; spot; stain.

A lady's honor . . . will not bear a soil. --Dryden.

Language Translation for : soil

Spanish: tierra, suelo,

German: der (Erd)Boden,

Japanese: 土

More Translations »

soil

Material on the surface of the Earth on which plants can grow. (See topsoil.)

Note: Soil is produced by the weathering of rocks.

soil (v.)

c.1225, "to defile or pollute with sin," from O.Fr. souillier "to foul or make dirty," originally "to wallow," from souil "tub, wild boar's wallow, pigsty," either from L. solium "tub for bathing, seat," or from L. suculus "little pig," from sus "pig." Meaning "to make dirty, begrime" is attested from c.1297. This is the sense of the noun in archaic night-soil.

soil (n.)

"the earth or ground," c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. soil "piece of ground, place" (13c.), from L. solium "seat," meaning confused with that of L. solum "soil, ground." Meaning "mould, earth, dirt" (especially that which plants grow in) is attested from c.1440.

soil (soil) Pronunciation Key
The loose top layer of the Earth's surface, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter (humus), and capable of retaining water, providing nutrients for plants, and supporting a wide range of biotic communities. Soil is formed by a combination of depositional, chemical, and biological processes and plays an important role in the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. Soil types vary widely from one region to another, depending on the type of bedrock they overlie and the climate in which they form. In wet and humid regions, for example, soils tend to be thicker than they do in dry regions. See more at A horizon , B horizon , C horizon., See illustration at ABC soil.

Search another word or see soil on Thesaurus | Reference

Dirt, Sand, & Gravel
Decomposed Granite, Topsoil, Mulch Order Online Lanndscaping Materials
www.SoilDirect.com

REMU Screens
Screening Buckets and Plants topsoil, compost, padding, etc
www.remu.fi

Ready To Haul
Mulch, Colored Mulch, Topsoil Horse Bedding, Playground Chips

www.ready-to-haul.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Advertise with Us · Link to Us · NASCAR® · Contact Us