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Webster 1913 Edition

Shoal

Shoal

,
Noun.
[AS.
scolu
,
sceolu
, a company, multitude, crowd, akin to OS.
skola
; probably originally, a division, and akin to Icel.
skilja
to part, divide. See
Skill
, and cf.
School
. of fishes.]
A great multitude assembled; a crowd; a throng; – said especially of fish;
as, a
shoal
of bass
.
“Great shoals of people.”
Bacon.
Beneath, a
shoal
of silver fishes glides.
Waller.

Shoal

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Shoaled
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Shoaling
.]
To assemble in a multitude; to throng;
as, the fishes
shoaled
about the place
.
Chapman.

Shoal

,
Adj.
[Cf.
Shallow
; or cf. G.
scholle
a clod, glebe, OHG.
scollo
,
scolla
, prob. akin to E.
shoal
a multitude.]
Having little depth; shallow;
as,
shoal
water
.

Shoal

,
Noun.
1.
A place where the water of a sea, lake, river, pond, etc., is shallow; a shallow.
The depth of your pond should be six feet; and on the sides some
shoals
for the fish to lay their span.
Mortimer.
Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory,
And sounded all the depths and
shoals
of honor.
Shakespeare
2.
A sandbank or bar which makes the water shoal.
The god himself with ready trident stands,
And opes the deep, and spreads the moving sands,
Then heaves them off the
shoals
.
Dryden.

Shoal

,
Verb.
I.
To become shallow;
as, the color of the water shows where it
shoals
.

Shoal

,
Verb.
T.
To cause to become more shallow; to come to a more shallow part of;
as, a ship
shoals
her water by advancing into that which is less deep
.
Marryat.

Webster 1828 Edition

Shoal

SHOAL

,
Noun.
1. A great multitude assembled; a crowd; a throng; as shoals of people. Immense shoals of herring appear on the coast in the spring.
The vices of a prince draw shoals of followers. Decay of Piety.
2. A place where the water of a river, lake or sea is shallow or af little depth; a sand bank or bar; a shallow. The entrance of rivers is often rendered difficult or dangerous by shoals.

SHOAL

,
Verb.
I.
1. To crowd; to throng; to assemble in a multitude. The fishes shoaled about the place.
2. To become more shallow. The water shoals as we approach the town.

SHOAL

,
Adj.
Shallow; of little depth; as shoal water.

Definition 2024

shoal

shoal

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

shoal ‎(comparative more shoal, superlative most shoal)

  1. (now rare) Shallow.
    shoal water
    • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, III.19:
      But that part of the coast being shoal and bare, / And rough with reefs which ran out many a mile, / His port lay on the other side o' the isle.

Noun

shoal ‎(plural shoals)

  1. A sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
    • Dryden
      The god himself with ready trident stands, / And opes the deep, and spreads the moving sands, / Then heaves them off the shoals.
  2. A shallow in a body of water.
    • Mortimer
      The depth of your pond should be six feet; and on the sides some shoals for the fish to lay their spawn.
    • Shakespeare
      Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, / And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour.
Synonyms
Translations

Verb

shoal ‎(third-person singular simple present shoals, present participle shoaling, simple past and past participle shoaled)

  1. To arrive at a shallow (or less deep) area.
  2. To cause a shallowing; to come to a more shallow part of.
    A ship shoals her water by advancing into that which is less deep. — Marryat.
  3. To become shallow.
    The colour of the water shows where it shoals.

Etymology 2

1570, presumably from Middle English *shole ‎(“school of fish”), from Old English sceolu, scolu ‎(“troop or band of people, host, multitude, division of army, school of fish”), from Proto-Germanic *skulō ‎(“crowd”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kʷel- ‎(“crowd, people”). Cognate with West Frisian skoal ‎(“shoal”), Middle Low German schōle ‎(“multitude, troop”), Dutch school ‎(“shoal of fishes”).

Noun

shoal ‎(plural shoals)

  1. Any large number of persons or things.
    • Francis Bacon
      great shoals of people
  2. (collective) A large number of fish (or other sea creatures) of the same species swimming together.
    • Waller
      Beneath, a shoal of silver fishes glides.
Synonyms
Translations

Verb

shoal ‎(third-person singular simple present shoals, present participle shoaling, simple past and past participle shoaled)

  1. To collect in a shoal; to throng.
    The fish shoaled about the place.

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English schold, scholde, from Old English sceald ‎(“shallow”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skalidaz, past participle of *skaljaną ‎(“to go dry, dry up, become shallow”), from *skalaz ‎(“parched, shallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- ‎(“to dry out”). Cognate with Low German Scholl ‎(“shallow water”), German schal ‎(“stale, flat, vapid”). Compare shallow.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ʃəʊl/
  • Rhymes: -əʊl

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