soil

¹soil

verb \ˈsȯi(-ə)l\

Definition of SOIL

transitive verb

1

: to stain or defile morally : corrupt

2

: to make unclean especially superficially : dirty

3

: to blacken or taint (as a person's reputation) by word or deed

intransitive verb

: to become soiled or dirty

Origin of SOIL

Middle English, from Anglo-French soiller, suiller, from Old French soil wallow of a wild boar, abyss, from Latin solium chair, bathtub; akin to Latin sedēre to sit — more at sit

First Known Use: 13th century

²soil

noun

Definition of SOIL

1

a : soilage, stain <protect a dress from soil>

b : moral defilement : corruption

2

: something that spoils or pollutes: as

a : refuse

b : sewage

c : dung, excrement

First Known Use of SOIL

1501

Rhymes with SOIL

boil, broil, coil, foil, moil, oil, royal, spoil, toil

³soil

noun

Definition of SOIL

1

: firm land : earth

2

a : the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed and in which plants grow

b : the superficial unconsolidated and usually weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the earth

3

: country, land <our native soil>

4

: the agricultural life or calling

5

: a medium in which something takes hold and develops

Origin of SOIL

Middle English, from Anglo-French, soil, piece of land, from Vulgar Latin *solium, alteration of Latin solea sole, sandal, foundation timber — more at sole

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

⁴soil

transitive verb

Definition of SOIL

: to feed (livestock) in the barn or an enclosure with fresh grass or green food; also : to purge (livestock) by feeding on green food

Origin of SOIL

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1605

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

soil

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

The biologically active, porous medium that has developed in the uppermost layer of the Earth's crust. Soil serves as a natural reservoir of water and nutrients, as a medium for the filtration and breakdown of injurious wastes, and as a participant in the cycling of carbon and other elements through the global ecosystem. It has evolved through the weathering of solid materials such as consolidated rocks, sediments, glacial tills, volcanic ash, and organic matter. The bulk of soil consists of mineral particles composed of silicate ions combined with various metal ions. Organic soil content consists of undecomposed or partially decomposed biomass as well as humus, an array of organic compounds derived from broken down biomass.