# soil

Pronunciation: say "SOYL" /sɔɪl/

## Noun

1. The loose upper layer of the earth's surface, made of mineral particles, organic matter, water, and air, in which plants grow.
   - Simple: The top layer of the ground, made of earth, tiny bits of rock, and dead plant matter, where plants grow.
   - _Farmers test the soil to learn which nutrients it lacks._
   - _Rich, dark soil covered the riverbank after the flood receded._
2. A country or its territory.
   - Simple: A country, or the land that belongs to a nation.
   - _They were proud to compete on home soil this year._
   - _He finally set foot on his native soil after years abroad._
4. A stain, smudge, or dirtying substance that spoils the cleanness of something.
   - Simple: A dirty mark or stain that makes something no longer clean.
   - _The launderer treated each garment to remove ground-in soil before pressing._
   - _This detergent is made to lift heavy soil from work clothes._
7. Feces or urine found on clothing or bedding.
   - Simple: Waste from the body, such as feces or urine, found on clothing.
   - _Linens with bodily soil, such as urine or feces, are bagged separately so the laundry can disinfect them._
   - _Because he is bedridden, the nurses check his nightclothes every two hours for urine or fecal soil._
8. Dung, manure, or compost, especially as used to fertilize land.
   - Simple: Animal waste such as dung or compost, used to make the ground richer for growing plants.
   - _Before cities had sewers, night soil was carted out of town and spread on fields as fertilizer._
   - _Collectors emptied the town's privies before dawn and sold the night soil to nearby farms._

## Verb

3. To make something dirty or stained, or to become dirty or stained.
   - Simple: To make something dirty, or to get dirty.
   - _He soiled his gloves while changing the tire._
   - _Careless workers can soil the upholstery with greasy hands._
5. To stain or damage someone's reputation, honor, or good name.
   - Simple: To harm someone's good name or honor.
   - _The bribery charges soiled the senator's reputation._
   - _One betrayal can soil a lifetime of honest work._
6. To dirty one's clothing by accidentally defecating while still dressed.
   - Simple: To make your clothes dirty by going to the bathroom in them by accident.
   - _The frightened toddler soiled himself before reaching the bathroom._
   - _Some patients soil themselves when the illness affects their control._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To ruin something or render it no longer valid.
- (verb) To enrich land by spreading dung or muck over it.
- (noun) A bag for collecting soiled items, such as used linens or contaminated dressings.
- (noun) A marshy place, stream, or stretch of water where a hunted boar, deer, or other game takes refuge.
- (verb) To feed cattle or horses on fresh-cut grass or green fodder in a barn or pen instead of turning them out to pasture, a diet that also serves to purge them.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4, 8** — From Middle English soile, soyle ("ground, earth"), partly from Anglo-Norman soyl ("bottom, ground"), from Latin solium ("seat, throne") mistaken for solum ("ground, foundation"), and partly from Old English sol ("mud, mire"), from Proto-Germanic *sulą ("mud") and Proto-Indo-European *sūl- ("thick liquid"). It is related to Danish søle ("mud") and to French sol ("soil, ground").
**Meanings 3, 5–7** — From Middle English soilen ("to sully, make dirty"), partly from Old French soillier ("to soil, wallow in mire"), of Germanic origin, and partly from Old English solian ("to make dirty"), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- ("thick liquid"). It is related to German suhlen and to sully.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/soil (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).