soil 1
(soil)n.1. The top layer of the earth's surface in which plants can grow, consisting of rock and mineral particles mixed with decayed organic matter and having the capability of retaining water.
2. A particular kind of earth or ground: sandy soil.
3. Country; land: native soil.
4. The agricultural life: a man of the soil.
5. 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.]
soil 2
(soil)v. soiled, soil·ing, soils
v.tr.1. To make dirty, particularly on the surface.
2. To disgrace; tarnish: a reputation soiled by scandal.
3. To corrupt; defile.
4. To dirty with excrement.
v.intr. To become dirty, stained, or tarnished.
n.1. a. The state of being soiled.
b. A stain.
2. Filth, sewage, or refuse.
3. 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,
wallow of a wild boar (from Latin
solium,
seat, bathtub; see
soil1).]
soil 3
(soil)tr.v. soiled,
soil·ing,
soils To feed (livestock) with soilage.
[Origin unknown.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.