| 释义 |
▪ I. soil, n.1|sɔɪl|
Forms: 4–8 soyle (5 soylle), 5, 7–8 soyl (6 Sc. soyll), 5–7 soile, 6– soil.
[a. AF. soil, soyl in sense 2 b (1292–1305), app. representing L. solium (whence also OF. soil, suel: see soil n.2), taken in the sense of L. solum (F. sol) ground. For Sc. forms see also sulye.]
I.
1. a. The earth or ground; the face or surface of the earth.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1387 Vch a syde [of the city] vpon soyle helde seuen myle. a1400–50Alexander 1252 It was semand to siȝt as all þe soyle trymblid. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 4383 Boþe tour & wal [was] with þe soil made pleyn. a1547Surrey æneid ii. C iv, I saw..Neptunus town clene razed from the soil. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 7 The face of Terra, the soyle, the land, the earth. 1632Lithgow Trav. viii. 372 The Countrey voyd of Villages, Riuers, or Cultiuage: but the soyle rich in Bestiall. 1660Milton Free Commw. 18 With the Prophet..to tell the verie soil it self what God hath determined of Coniah and his seed for ever. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 21 In cases of copyholds, a lord may have a right under the soil of the copyholder. a1838in Murray N. Germ. 90 The precise spot where his foot first touched the soil. 1851Borrow Lavengro lxxv, I flung myself on the soil, and kissed it.
†b. The lower ground, the plain. Obs.—1
1594Nashe Dido iii. iii. 976 æneas, leaue these dumpes, and lets away, Some to the mountaines, some vnto the soyle, You to the valleys.
2. a. A piece or stretch of ground; a place or site. Now rare or Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 2078 He þat set is full sad on a soile euyn, And pight has his place on a playn ground. 1430–40Lydg. Bochas ii. xiii. (1554) 51 b, A soyle she found ful delectable of sight. 1470in Aungier Syon Mon. (1840) 72 A soyle and a grownde of wode callid Blakeley. 1547in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. i. 131 The Sightes or Soyles wheruppon the same ij churches Are..buyldyd. 1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 205 Hauing forgotten the situation of the soyle where he was resident,..he fell into a ditche. 1647Hexham i. (Hunting), The ground or soile where a Deere feeds. 1797T. Wright Autobiog. (1864) 89 If I could purchase a soil anywhere nigh..he would give me the stones..to build the house.
†b. With poss. pron. or genitive. Obs.
1464Rolls of Parlt. V. 529/1 CC acres of wast of oure soile within the Forest. 1467in Eng. Gilds (1870) 371 That euery man kepe his soyle clene and his pavyment hole. 1480Cov. Leet Bk. 459 Þe place of the seid weysshyng ys þe soyle of þe hospitall.
†c. An estate or property. Obs. rare.
1575Churchyard Chippes (1817) 138 They went towards Seatton,..where the lady of that soyle..presented the keyes..to the generall.
3. A land or country; a region, province, or district. Now Obs. or arch.
a1400–50Alexander 3161 Þe sceptoure & þe soile sesid am [I] of Persy. a1513Fabyan Chron. vii. ccxxxv. (1811) 271 Y⊇ kyng..gaue y⊇ moytie therof to y⊇ duke of Burgoyn, as chefe lorde of yt soyle. 1577St. Augustine's Man. 26 There the daysunne of righteousnesse..inlighteneth all the Citizens of the heavenly soyle. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xiv. 250 There is towardes that place a soile which they call, the Land of Emeraldes. 1667Milton P.L. i. 242 Is this the Region, this the Soil, the Clime,..That we must change for Heav'n? 1727Gay Fables i. x. 2 The man who with undaunted toils Sails unknown seas, to unknown soils. 1781Cowper Expost. 192 Lords of the conquered soil,..In peace possessing what they won by war.
4. a. The place of one's nativity; one's (native) land or country.
a1400–50Alexander 1724 Þe souerayne sire of my soyle þat sittis in my trone. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 51 His soyle also (where he was borne) geveth him to be an evill man. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxviii. §1 When hunger caused them to leaue their naturall soyle, and to seeke for sustenance in Egypt. 1632Lithgow Trav. i. 7, I choosed..to seclude my selfe from my soyle. 1697Dryden Virg., Past. x. 70 You..To shun my sight, your Native Soil forego, And climb the frozen Alps. 1748Gray Alliance 87 The manners speak the idiom of their soil. 1822Shelley Chas. 1st ii. 211 Your Majesty has ever interposed, In lenity towards your native soil [etc.]. 1838Thirlwall Greece IV. 155 The outcasts whom the cruel policy..of the Athenians had at various times deprived of their native soils.
†b. One's domicile or place of residence. Freq. in to change one's soil. Obs.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. vi. 91 Because thei cary great droues of catteill with them, they chaunge their soile often. 1577–87Holinshed Chron. III. 1066/2 Such as could make shift..changed their soile. 1641Milton Ch. Govt. Wks. 1851 III. 96 Some of our Prelates in all haste meant to change their soile. 1643Baker Chron., Eliz. 50 His father,..being persecuted for a Protestant, changed his Soyl.
5. In phrases:
a. lord of the soil, the owner of an estate or domain.
1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. x. 26 Heere's the Lord of the soile come to seize me for a stray. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 53 A class of people in a condition of downright servitude, belonging..to the lord of the soil.
b. child (son, etc.) of the soil, a native of a place or country; also, closely connected with or engaged in the cultivation of the ground.
1814Southey Roderick i. 7 A yoke galled..the children of the soil. 1861Pearson Early & Mid. Ages England i. 1 The sons of the soil, whom invasion had dispossessed of their homes. 1882Keary Outl. Prim. Belief 105 Some have believed themselves autochthonous, or children of the soil! 1891T. Hardy Tess (1900) 133/2 Don't, Angel, be so anxious about a mere child of the soil!
II.
6. a. The ground with respect to its composition, quality, etc., or as the source of vegetation.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1039 Þe clay þat clenges þer-by arn corsyes strong,..& suche is alle þe soyle by þat se halues. Ibid. C. 443 Þe whyle God of his grace ded growe of þat soyle Þe fayrest bynde hym [sc. Jonah] abof þat euer burne wyste. 1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 2606 Þe bareyn soyl to clothen and amende. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 54 Most subiect is the fattest Soyle to Weedes. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. vi. 219 The ground and soile of this mountaine is drie, cold and very vnpleasant. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 71 Goad him..Till the bright Share is bury'd in the Soil. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. vi, I dwelt long upon the fertility of our soil and the temperature of our climate. 1748Gray Alliance 6 The soil, tho' fertile, will not teem in vain. 1806Gazetteer Scotl. 101 The soil is excellent, being composed of clay and sand. 1882Geikie Text-bk. Geol. ii. ii. vi. 154 Primarily the character of the soil is determined by that of the subsoil.
b. transf. and fig. (or in fig. context).
1575G. W. in Gascoigne's Wks. (1907) I. 24 Whereof if some but simple seeme, consider well the soyle. They grew not all at home, some came from forreyne fieldes. c1586C'tess Pembroke Ps. lii. viii, Gods house the soile shall bee My rootes to nourish. 1824Lamb Elia ii. Blakesmoor in H—shire, These were..the wholesome soil which I was planted in. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 277 This popular literature is found over the whole face of Europe. Turn the soil where you will, and a plentiful crop at once springs up. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 858 These agents..in some way make the soil [sc. the skin] unsuitable for the growth of the fungus.
7. a. Without article: Mould; earth. Usu., but not always, such material as will support the growth of plants, as contrasted with subsoil.
c1440Promp. Parv. 342/1 Moold, or soyle of erthe, solum, humus. 1530Palsgr. 272/1 Soyle of grounde, terrover. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. vi. 31 It sited was in fruitfull soyle of old. 1648Milton Ps. lxxxi. 23 His hands from pots, and mirie soyle Deliver'd were by me. 1685Temple Gardens Wks. 1720 I. 183 Of all sorts of Soil, the best is that upon a Sandy Gravel. a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 65 Many beds of excellent soil. 1774Bryant Mythol. II. 214 When the birds were found to return with their feet stained with soil. 1855Delamer Kitchen Gard. 2 Though the Flemings have, mostly, everything that can be wished for as to soil. 1880Geikie Phys. Geog. iv. 187 The layer of soil on which the plants grow. 1906E. W. Hilgard Soils viii. 120 Universal experience has long ago recognized and established the distinction between soil and subsoil: by which are ordinarily meant, respectively, the portion of the soil-material usually subjected to tillage, and what lies beneath. 1932G. W. Robinson Soils i. 2 Soil consists essentially of (a) mineral matter,..(b) organic matter,..(c) soil moisture,..and (d) soil air. 1952L. M. Thompson Soils & Soil Fertility i. 3 Soil is the mixture of mineral and organic material at the land surface of the earth that is capable of sustaining plant life. 1976D. Steila Geogr. Soils 2 Soil serves as an anchorage for plants and as their nutrient reservoir.
b. Engin. Fragmentary or unconsolidated material occurring naturally at or near the earth's surface, regardless of its suitability for plant life. Cf. regolith.
1934L. C. Urquhart Civil Engin. Handbk. viii. 632 The earth consists of various rock formations covered with a mantle of unconsolidated products of rock disintegration, called the regolith or, more commonly, the soil, although agriculturists use the term soil in a somewhat different sense. 1967A. Singh Soil Engin. i. 1 Soil is considered to include all naturally occurring loose or soft deposit overlying the solid bedrock crust. 1972C. B. Hunt Geol. Soils i. 5 In engineering, ‘soil’ refers to the ground that can be excavated by earth-moving equipment without blasting.
c. Friable or powdery material occurring naturally on another planet.
1967Sci. Amer. Nov. 43/1 Some of the objects observed on the lunar surface were clodlike clumps of soil. 1970Nature 28 Nov. 795/2 (caption) Lunakhod-1 tracks in the lunar soil. 1976Daily Tel. 4 Aug. 10/6 The mechanical digging arm on the Viking I lander was activated again yesterday, scooping up fresh soil to explore for basic life forms on Mars. 1977J. M. Pasachoff Contemporary Astron. iii. xiii. 336 The Venera landers also made measurements of the soil, determining that its chemical composition and density correspond to that of basalt, in common with the Earth, the Moon, and Mars.
8. a. With a and pl. A particular kind of mould or earth.
1560Bible (Geneva) Ezek. xvii. 8 It was planted in a good soile by great waters, that it shulde..beare frute. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. i. 64 The variation of each soyle, Betwixt that Holmeden, and this Seat of ours. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies ii. viii. 99 The rest is a sandie and barren soile. 1626B. Jonson Staple of N. ii. iv. (1905) 46 But this is a hungry soile, And must be helpt. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 154 Nor ev'ry plant on ev'ry soil will grow. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 109/1 There were as many different sorts of wines, as there were of different soyls wherein the vineyards were planted. 1767A. Young Farmer's Lett. to People 140 On three different soils (very light—rich—and very heavy). 1813Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. i. (1814) 12 Soils in all cases consist of a mixture of finely divided earthy matters. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 171/1 Sandy and peaty soils and marls are in general deficient in this alkali.
fig.1631Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. iv. (1635) 197 There is but one good soile, upon which the seed of the Word falls prosperously. 1781Cowper Truth 363 No soil like poverty for growth divine. 1794Paley Evid. (1825) II. 352 Infidelity is the hardest soil which the propagators of a new religion can have to work upon. 1870Max Müller Sci. Relig. (1873) 39 In no religion was there a soil so well prepared.
b. Engin. A particular kind of fragmentary material (sense 7 b above).
1913Blanchard & Drowne Text-bk. Highway Engin. vi. 127 Some of the more common soils encountered in highway work are classified as gravel, sand, clay, loam, marl, peat and muck. 1966McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. XII. 450/1 Soils range from deep-lying geologic deposits to agricultural soils.
9. attrib. and Comb., as soil aggregate, soil amelioration, soil bacterium (usu. pl.), soil-breaker, soil characteristic, soil classification, soil compaction, soil condition, soil cover, soil depletion, soil development, soil drainage, soil-draining, soil fertility, soil formation, soil genesis, soil geography, soil geology, soil layer, soil management, soil material, soil microbiology, soil micro-organism, soil mineral, soil moisture, soil nutrient, soil organic matter, soil organism, soil particle, soil population, soil pore, soil-pulverizer, soil restoration, soil-restorer, soil sterilization, soil structure, soil study, soil temperature, soil test, soil texture; soil-binding, soil-borne, soil-building, soil-depleting, soil-dwelling, soil-forming, soil-inhabiting, soil-restorative, soil-supporting adjs.; soil-testing, soil-warming ns. and adjs.
1934Discovery July 198/2 Important chemical properties are indicated by the form of the soil aggregates. 1967Soil aggregate [see Krilium]. 1969Gloss. for Landscape Work (B.S.I.) v. 20 Soil amelioration. 1972Edwards & Lofty Biol. Earthworms vii. 171 (heading) Soil amelioration by earthworms.
1900Knowledge 2 July 161/2 In removing from the land his annual crop, the farmer carries off the greater part of the year's supply of potential humus whence the soil looks to be provided with Nitrates—by the action of the soil-bacteria—for the coming season. 1973R. G. Krueger et al. Introd. Microbiol. xxx. 743/1 Two groups of aerobic soil bacteria are in large part responsible for the conversion of ammonia to nitrate. Representatives of the Nitrosomonas group oxidize ammonia to nitrite; those of the Nitrobacter group oxidize nitrite to nitrate.
1913Bull. Bureau of Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 96. 19 This wasteful wash can be checked..by seeding the land to soil-binding grasses. 1943J. S. Huxley TAV vi. 42 Protective, soil⁓binding crops. 1946Nature 9 Nov. 661/2 Verticillium Malthousei is the causal fungus; it may be soil-borne, or carried by flies. 1968Times 16 Dec. 7/2 The soil-borne diseases, take-all and eyespot. 1977J. L. Harper Population Biol. Plants v. 139 It is..not particularly easy to discriminate between direct toxic action of soil chemical conditions and indirect effects due to soil-borne pathogens which are themselves determined in distribution by the chemical conditions.
1889Pall Mall G. 25 June 3/1 The same may be said of harrows and soil-breakers.
1920W. W. Weir Productive Soils i. 9 Because of the source of soil building materials, the nature of soil formation, [etc.]..all soil can not be the same. 1938,1962Soil-building [see soil-depleting adj. below].
1902P. McConnell Elem. Agric. Geol. iv. 122 (heading) Soil characteristics. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 73 No geomorphologist today is adequately trained who lacks an appreciation of the soil-forming processes and a basic understanding of soil characteristics.
1923Soil Sci. XVI. 95 On the basis of this concept of soils and soil classification, field and laboratory studies of soils in Michigan have been undertaken. 1946L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery xi. 92 The basis of the soil classification used for these maps is a textural one:..broadly the purpose was to separate sands, light, medium and heavy loams, clays and peats. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 23 Senior members of the national soil surveys such as G. W. Robinson (1932) and B. W. Avery (1956) have been responsible for soil classifications which developed from the work of soil survey in Britain.
1933Engin. News-Record 31 Aug. 245/2 The basic principles of soil compaction..apply to all types of earthfills and to foundation design. 1971Power Farming Mar. 80/1 (Advt.), The Salo [harrow] produces a fine, level, shallow bed with only one or two tractor passes. Soil compaction is reduced to the minimum.
1905Jrnl. Agric. Sci. I. 78 The clover crop feels the effect of the changed soil conditions to a much greater extent. 1966Soil condition [see soil survey, sense 10 below].
1964W. C. Putnam Geology x. 249/1 Soil cover serves to alleviate the starkness of a rock-dominated landscape.
1938Sun (Baltimore) 14 Sept. 4/8 Payments will be made for keeping within soil-depleting acreage allotments and for attaining soil-building goals. 1962Times 12 Oct. (Stand. Bank Suppl.) p. vii/5 The ability to overcome..problems by applying research findings such as.. soil-building rotations as opposed to soil-depleting rotations and harmful practices such as monoculture.
1925Soil depletion [see mosaic a.1 6].
1921Proc. 41st Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci., 1920 (U.S.) 118 A great deal of fundamental work has been done in Russia. It has been concerned..with the working out of the principles and the formulation of the laws of soil development. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. ii. 57 The origin of parent materials is not significant for soil development except as an indication of the soil properties that may be expected.
1946L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery xi. 100 The relationship between vegetation cover and soil drainage is far from being sufficiently realised. 1840J. Buel Farmer's Comp. 101 What we term soil-draining, is most frequently resorted to in swamps and low lands. 1970Gay & Calaby in Krishna & Weesner Biol. Termites II. ix. 440 Soil-dwelling colonies commonly build radiating gallery systems on the soil surface to adjacent grass tussocks.
1901Proc. 22nd Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci. (U.S.) 62 The subject of humus in its relation to soil fertility. 1968R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 1235/2 Deposition of fine dust (obvious in the case of thick loess) has occurred in very thin mantles..over broad areas. The latter is a vastly underrated factor in the maintenance of soil fertility in wide regions.
1912Bull. Bur. Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 85. 14 The most important agency of soil formation is moisture. 1963[see pedogenesis]. 1967M. J. Coe Ecol. Alpine Zone Mt. Kenya 69 The processes of soil formation are also very evident.
1902P. McConnell Elem. Agric. Geol. iii. 66 (heading) List of the principal soil-forming minerals. 1936[see pedogenesis]. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. ii. 34 Climate was regarded as the principal and dominant soil-forming factor for the greater part of the short history of pedological thought.
1927C. F. Marbut in tr. Glinka's Great Soil Groups p. i, The development of the first and only comprehensive theory of soil genesis. 1946S. A. Wilde Forest Soils & Forest Growth iii. 20 An essential factor of soil genesis, the composition of vegetative cover. 1972Soil genesis [see pedocal].
1927C. F. Marbut tr. Glinka's Great Soil Groups 7 The study of the soil geography of North America has..enforced the recognition of the close relationship between the soil and climatic conditions. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 30 Pedology is, by this definition, very close to soil geography except that the latter is concerned with all kinds of distributions involving soil, from those of natural genesis to limitations for soil cultivation.
1907J. R. Kilroe (title) A description of the soil-geology of Ireland, based upon Geological Survey maps and records. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 16 A further distinction differentiating soil from weathered rock was subsequently made.., but nevertheless the view of soil science as soil geology prevailed for the rest of the nineteenth century in Western Europe and America.
1939Melhus & Kent Elem. Plant Path. vii. 97 Mercuric chloride in dilute solution has been used in the control of..certain soil-inhabiting pathogens, etc. 1969W. L. Nutting in Krishna & Weesner Biol. Termites I. viii. 274 There is even less information on the wood- and soil-inhabiting Hodotermitidae.
1911Encycl. Brit. XXV. 351/2 The general evidence indicates that the specific bacteria of cholera discharges are capable of a much longer existence in the superficial soil layers than was formerly supposed. 1964W. C. Putnam Geology x. 249/2 Soil layers and particles may be lifted up by the expansion of freezing water. 1968Soil layer [see pedosphere].
1909Bull. Bur. Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 55. 26 This is borne out by the experience of farmers, who testify as to differences in soil management. 1979W. L. Pritchett Properties & Managem. Forest Soils p. v, Significant advances have been made in silviculture, especially in reforestation technology and soil management of short rotation forests for fiber production.
1912Bull. Bur. Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 85. 23 Numerous kinds of rocks or soil material, subjected to the action of many agencies and processes,..have resulted in the formation of many varieties or types of soil. 1971A. R. Jumikis Foundation Engin. vii. 179 The soil materials to use for building earth cofferdams are sandy clay and clayey sand.
1925Soil Sci. XIX. 201 Agricultural practice has hardly been modified as a result of the development of soil microbiology. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 15 We are not concerned with the foundation or the history of soil chemistry, soil physics, soil microbiology, soil mineralogy, and other member parts of soil science, but rather with the inception and growth of pedology within the last century.
1916Soil Sci. I. 99 The study of soil microörganisms has attracted the attention of many investigators. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. 170 Easily attacked by a wide variety of soil microorganisms are substances like protein, sugars, and pectins.
1913Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. CCIV. 181 The soil solution may not be of constant concentration, because the soil minerals may not be so similar as is supposed, especially after the application of fertilizers. 1980Amateur Gardening 4 Oct. 23/3 Grass needs potassium.., but it is extraordinarily efficient about extracting it from naturally-occuring soil minerals.
1926Phytopathology XVI. 582 Soil temperature and soil moisture were believed by many writers to be responsible in part for the variation in potato mosaic symptoms. 1980Amateur Gardening 4 Oct. 23/1 Nitrogen..applied in the form of a fertiliser dissolves in the soil moisture and is very rapidly lost.
1926Phytopathology XVI. 583 Some attempt has been made to modify the symptoms of mosaic by varying the soil nutrients.
1915T. L. Lyon et al. Soils viii. 126 The source of practically all soil organic matter is plant tissue. 1971Gloss. Soil Sci. Terms (Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.) 17/1 Soil organic matter, the organic fraction of the soil; includes plant and animal residues at various stages of decomposition, cells and tissues of soil organisms, and substances synthesized by the soil population. 1979W. L. Prichett Properties & Managem. Forest Soils xvi. 290 While soil organic matter can be increased by use of green manure crops and the additions of composts.., such increases are temporary due to the decomposition of these materials by soil organisms.
1901H. M. Ward Dis. Plants xv. 143 Cuttings..stuck into ordinary soil in dirty boxes covered with equally dirty glass, present every chance for infection by soil organisms. 1967M. J. Coe Ecol. Alpine Zone Mt. Kenya 70 On account of the low temperature..and the consequent paucity of soil organisms, there is a marked inhibition of the chemical breakdown of parent materials.
1900R. Warington Lect. Physical Properties Soil i. 11 Any group of particles obtained by subsidence will not be entirely of the same size in cases where the soil particles consist of substances having different specific gravities. 1914[see crumb n. 1 c]. 1964W. C. Putnam Geology x. 245/1 The C-horizon..is a mixture in varying proportions of altered and unaltered rock fragments and soil particles.
1875Knight Dict. Mech. 2238/2 Soil-pulverizer, a machine for breaking clods.
1927Soil population [see edaphon]. 1971Gloss. Soil Sci. Terms (Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.) 17/1 Soil pores. 1976Physics Bull. Aug. 342/3 Marshall's equation..implies a certain connectivity of soil pores which may not always be justified.
1946Nature 2 Nov. 605/1 A combination of cereal agriculture and tree-fruit crops, with subsidiary pasturage, hunting, and fishing, as an approximately stable regime,..presumes a cycle of soil-restoration. 1962E. Snow Red China Today (1963) lxvii. 508 Many of these toy dams are already used for local power, irrigation and soil-restorative purposes.
1910Chambers's Jrnl. Aug. 560/1 The new alfalfa..is expected to yield an ideal forage and act as a soil-restorer. 1913L. C. Corbett Garden Farming ii. 23 Soil sterilization has for its direct object the treatment of soil in such a way as to render it free from injurious enemies. 1923W. F. Bewley Dis. Glasshouse Plants viii. 154 The practice of soil sterilization is now an accepted method of increasing the fertility of infertile soils.
1920W. W. Weir Productive Soils ii. 13 Texture should not be confused with soil ‘structure’ which means the arrangements of the soil grains..or..the relation of the soil particles to each other. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 87 Not all soil structures are..solifluction features, for downslope movement may be either lacking or of minor importance. 1976Physics Bull. Aug. 343/3 This amount of tillage..can also be harmful to the stability of the soil structure.
1927C. F. Marbut tr. Glinka's Great Soil Groups 10 Natural exposures..can be utilized as aids to soil study by artificial exposures, such as dry wells,..are better. 1972Soil study [see soil profile, sense 10 below].
1876Nature 13 Jan. 215/2 Disintegrated rocks form soil-supporting vegetation.
1923W. F. Bewley Dis. Glasshouse Plants ii. 37 Investigations upon the Verticillium wilt of tomatoes..illustrate the importance of air and soil temperatures in conditioning the progress of disease. 1976L. F. Curtis et al. Soils in Brit. Isles xii. 221 Another effect of good drainage is that it allows the soil temperature to rise more quickly in the spring.
1926Public Roads VII. 153 (heading) Simplified soil tests for subgrades and their physical significance. 1978Friedman & Sanders Princ. Sedimentol. xiii. 417/1 It suffices for most engineering purposes to put the samples from a soil-test boring into small jars.
1934Proc. Amer. Soc. Testing Materials XXXIV. ii. 693 (heading) Subgrade soil testing methods. 1979S. Smith Survivor vi. 74 A local horticulturist giving a demonstration of soil testing. 1980Amateur Gardening 4 Oct. 23/3 Home soil-testing kits can be purchased at quite reasonable prices at garden centres.
1912R. L. Watts Vegetable Gardening iii. 25 (heading) Soil texture. 1971Arable Farmer Feb. 62/1 Soil texture is an important factor in determining the equilibrium of organic matter level.
1938C. P. Quarrell Intensive Salad Production vi. 72 Before undertaking any system of electrical soil warming the grower should consult the cable manufacturers. 1954A. G. L. Hellyer Encycl. Garden Work 97/1 Electric soil-warming cables may be buried in the soil.
b. attrib. in pl.
1925P. Emerson Soil Characteristics i. 22 The soils student should become acquainted with the common soil⁓forming minerals and rocks. 1945P. Work Vegetable Production & Marketing x. 164 See soils textbooks for discussions of the principles and practices of land drainage. 1969Civil Engin. June 43/2 The stratum, our soils consultant recommended, could be used for safe bearing pressures of 1,200 and 1,800 psf, for dead load and total load respectively. 1973[see pedology].
10. Special combs.: soil air, air present in the soil; soil amendment, a substance added to the soil to improve its properties, esp. its physical properties; also, the use of such substances; soil analysis, the scientific investigation of the composition and structure of soil or soil samples; soil association, a group of soils that are related geographically or topographically, esp. ones derived from a common parent material; soil auger, a rotary tool (either powered or operated manually) for boring into or taking samples of soil; soil bank, (a) land taken out of use for agricultural production (? temporary); (b) the soil as a continuing store of seeds, pathogens, nutrients, etc.; soil biology, the study of soil organisms and their life; soil-bound a., (a) clagged, clodded (cf. sole-bound s.v. sole n.1 9 b); (b) bound or attached to the soil; soil-cap Geol., a layer of soil and detritus covering strata or bedrock; soil catena: see catena c; soil-cement a. and (also without hyphen) n., (material) composed of soil or a soil substitute that has been strengthened and stabilized by the admixture of cement; soil chemistry, the branch of soil science concerned with the chemical properties and reactions of soil; so soil chemist; soil class, a group of soils similar to one another in texture or (in mod. use) some other physical property; soil climate, the prevailing physical conditions in the soil, esp. as they affect soil organisms and plant life; soil colloid, a substance present in the soil as a colloid, i.e. in the form of very small particles; soil conditioner, a substance added to the soil to improve its physical characteristics, esp. one made synthetically for the purpose; soil conservation, the protection and safeguarding of the soil against erosion, loss of fertility, and damage; soil-creep, the slow creeping or sliding movement of surface-soil down a slope; soil deficiency, an insufficiency in the soil of some substance necessary for the proper growth of plants; soil erosion, the removal of soil by the action of wind or running water; soil exhaustion, the disappearance of fertility from the soil; soil extract (see quot. 1971); soil group, a group of soils; spec. in Soil Sci. (also great soil group), each of the relatively small number of groups into which the world's soils are divided on the basis of their profiles and the climate in which they exist; soil horizon = horizon n. 5 b; soil mantle, the soil as a covering of the underlying rock; soil map U.S., a map showing the distribution of various kinds of soil; a map showing the location and nature of the various kinds of soil in a region; so soil mapping vbl. n.; soil mark Archæol., a trace of a levelled or buried feature indicated by differences in the colour or texture of the soil, usu. on ploughed land; soil mechanics, the science concerned with the mechanical properties and behaviour of soil as they affect its use in civil engineering; soil phase, each of a number of soils that belong to the same soil type or soil series but differ in some feature such as stoniness, slope, etc.; soil physics (see quot. 1976); hence soil physicist; soil-pipe (see quot.); soil polygon = polygon n. 2 b; soil profile = profile n.1 4 d; soil province: see province 6 d; soil resistivity, the electrical resistivity of the soil; usu. attrib.; soil sample, a sample of soil taken for scientific investigation; soil sampler, any device for taking soil samples; so soil sampling vbl. n.; soil science = pedology; so soil scientist = pedologist; soil separate, a separate (sense 6) obtained from soil; soil series, a group of soils similar in profile, origin, and other characteristics but varying in the texture of the surface horizon; soil sickness, a condition of soil in which it has become unable to support the healthy growth of a crop; so soil-sick a. (rare); soil solution, the water present around and between soil particles as a dilute solution of mineral salts; soil stabilization, the treatment of soil to give it increased resistance to movement, esp. under load, and erosion; soil stripe Geomorphol., one of the low ridges of stony soil which occur in cold environments and form parallel, evenly spaced lines; soil survey, a systematic examination and mapping of the different kinds of soil present in a region or on a site; a report of the results so obtained; a body of people engaged in such work; so soil surveyor; soil type, a particular kind of soil; spec. in Soil Sci., a subdivision of a soil series made according to the texture of the surface horizon, and representing the lowest unit in the system of classification; (see also quot. 1928); soil wash, the movement of soil by ground water; soil water, the water present in soil.
1920Mem. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Station No. 32. 326 Before seeding, some preliminary studies were made in order to ascertain the best method of obtaining the sample of *soil air for analysis. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. iii. 81 Differences between the composition of soil air and atmospheric air become greater with depth..provided organisms remain present.
1915T. L. Lyon et al. Soils xxiv. 542 Gypsum..was a popular *soil amendment in this country before the common commercial fertilizers were used to any great extent. 1967Boston Sunday Globe 28 Apr. b. 67/4 Whenever the garden has to be in a new housing development, liming is particularly needed and all the other additions of manure, peat and fertilizer. This is now called ‘soil amendment’ by the more technical. 1978R. C. Oelhaf Organic Agric. iii. 37 Many ‘organic’ soil amendments are now on the market which are mainly crushed rock, selling at prices as high as 200 times the price of the ingredients.
1873Amer. Jrnl. Sci. CVI. 289 In *soil analysis special importance attaches to these finer sediments. 1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. x. 169 No analyst, using the ordinary processes for soil analysis, can determine whether or not such infinitesimal amounts [of minerals] as are required by the crop are present or are not present in an available form in a soil. 1946R. J. C. Atkinson Field Archaeol. ii. 62 Another technique which is becoming increasingly valuable to the excavator is that of soil-analysis.
1939Yearbk. Agric. 1938 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 1163 *Soil association, group of soils, with or without common characteristics, geographically associated in an individual pattern. 1952L. M. Thompson Soils & Soil Fertility vi. 87 The most important grouping of series, in so far as the farmer is concerned, is that of the soil association. 1970E. M. Bridges World Soils v. 34/1 The Scottish soil scientists have grouped topographically related soils developed on one geological parent material into a soil association.
1927E. L. Worthen Farm Soils vi. 224 A *soil auger, if available, should be used instead of a spade for sampling both surface soil and subsoil. 1975Sci. Amer. May 93/1 The oak-hickory-tulip stand and the bigtooth aspen stand are on coarse, well-drained soil, which is aerated to as great a depth as I can reach with a two-meter soil auger.
1955Sun (Baltimore) 26 Nov. 8/2 ‘*Soil bank’ is the current farm bloc slang for a scheme by which farmers are paid by the Government for taking acreage out of the production of surplus crops. 1958J. K. Galbraith Affluent Society xx. 221 Wherever possible euphemisms were employed—as this is written, instead of taking acres out of production they are being put into a soil bank. 1977J. L. Harper Population Biol. Plants iv. 95 In a sense there is a circular argument here; species which have pioneered the succession are strongly persistent in the soil-bank and so appear as pioneer species in the next succession on the area. Do they persist because they are pioneers or do they become pioneers because they have persisted.
1928Proc. & Papers 1st Internat. Congr. Soil Sci. III. 325 *Soil biology is essentially a science of observation and experimentation. 1967Burges & Raw Soil Biol. p. vi, One of the stimulating developments in soil biology in recent years has been the general recognition that the soil cannot be studied solely from a chemical, microbiological, botanical or zoological stand-point.
1688Holme Armoury iii. 333/2 Crust Clung or *Soil Bound, is an hard, sticking together of the Earth, that nothing will grow on it. 1814Byron Lara ii. viii, That morning he had freed the soil-bound slaves. c1875Waugh Heather II. 151 As I get owder, I get more soil-bund.
1882Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iv. iii. 511 Mere gravitation aided by the downward pressure of sliding detritus or ‘*soil-cap’ suffices to bend over the edges of fissile strata.
1936Proc. Highway Res. Board (U.S.) XVI. 324/2 Tests were conducted to determine the moisture-density relations of the raw soil and the *soil-cement mixtures. Ibid. 348/2 Would the mixtures of soil-cement when compacted at optimum moisture to maximum density, maintain these characteristics under natural weathering conditions. 1950N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. May 481/1 Soil cement (silty material mixed with cement)..gives a building material which has a definite structural strength, besides being resistant to the action of water and frost. 1966R. Ashworth Highway Engin. ix. 161 By far the greatest proportion of soil-cement construction has been carried out in the U.S.A. 1979R. J. Salter Highway Design & Constr. i. 28 Soil cement may be formed by the addition of cement to a wide range of materials, including natural soils, chalk, pulverised fuel ash..and processed granular material.
1927N. M. Comber Introd. Scientific Study Soil xiii. 130 *Soil chemists and agriculturists frequently speak about soil ‘types’, and yet the definition of the various types is a matter which presents very considerable difficulty. 1959J. D. Clark Prehist. Southern Africa ii. 36 It should be possible..to amass information concerning the main vegetation patterns..and for this we need the help of the..soil chemist. 1971Power Farming Mar. 54/1 That handbook..is a chemical engineer's handbook and a ‘natural’ for all contractor services. Soil chemists have played only a minor role in assembling it.
1927C. F. Marbut in tr. Glinka's Great Soil Groups p. ii, In the more detailed study of the soil profile, the clearer recognition of the nature of soil horizons, soil structures, soil colors and in the relation of *soil chemistry to the processes of soil development in Nature, this book will be of great suggestive value. 1941J. S. Huxley Uniqueness of Man vi. 103 What began as a study of local cattle diseases has turned into a problem of the soil chemistry of grasslands. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 15 In this discussion we are not concerned with the foundation or the history of soil chemistry, soil physics,..and other member parts of soil science, but rather with the inception and growth of pedology within the last century.
1913Bull. Bur. Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 96. 8 A *soil class..includes all soils having the same texture, such as sands, clays, loam, etc. 1951Soil Survey Man. (U.S. Dept. Agric. Handbk. No. 18) 135 Soil class is observed in the field by feeling the soil with the fingers.
1900R. Warington Lect. Physical Properties Soil p. xii, If seeds are to germinate in a soil,..there must be a suitable *soil climate. 1976A. Young Tropical Soils & Soil Survey i. 7 The factor which directly influences soil-forming processes is soil climate rather than air climate.
1915Chem. Abstr. IX. 1084 R. discusses the importance of *soil colloids for agriculture. 1935Nature 24 Aug. 307/2 Much attention was directed..towards the base-exchange properties of soil colloids, particularly from the mineralogical point of view. 1970J. A. Daji Textbk. Soil Sci. xiii. 120 Soil colloids are of two kinds: (1) inorganic and (2) organic... The organic colloid..is more commonly known as humus.
1952Sci. News Let. 5 Jan. 8/2 The new *soil conditioner changes the structure of clay making it porous and crumbly. 1976L. F. Curtis et al. Soils in Brit. Isles xv. 285 Soil conditioners may be applied to add stability. 1978Friedman & Sanders Princ. Sedimentol. v. 141/2 Zeolites..are mined from sedimentary deposits for use as fillers in the paper industry; as soil conditioners; [etc.].
1932Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 349 The national plan for *soil and water conservation calls for the establishment of experiment stations. 1935U.S. Laws, Statutes XLIX. i. 164 The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an agency to be known as the ‘Soil Conservation Service’. 1944Auden For Time Being (1945) 90 The Committees on Fen-Drainage and Soil-Conservation. 1952W. L. Miner World of W. Faulkner ii. 61 Since 1933 the various soil conservation programs..have done much for Lafayette county. 1971E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 13 Apr. 2/1 The committee stressed that unlike in the colonial era, farmers in the rural areas should now take great pains in soil conservation.
1897Archaeol. Jrnl. Dec. 374 The *soil-creep is slow and the surface soils are of great antiquity.
1925J. F. Cox Crop Production & Soil Managem. vii. 116 (heading) The elements of fertility, common *soil deficiencies, and fertilizers carrying nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. 1935Discovery Oct. 294/1 Non-parasitic diseases of plants, due principally to soil deficiencies.
1896Nat. Geogr. Mag. Nov. 368 (heading) The economic aspects of *soil erosion. 1944J. S. Huxley Living in Revolution iii. 30 It neglected conservation and amenities: the result was deforestation, soil erosion, the dust bowl. 1980Sci. Amer. Sept. 114/2 Major problems related to land use, soil erosion and water pollution are likely to place further limits on the recovery of these nonconventional oil resources.
1920W. W. Weir Productive Soils vii. 84 In some instances *soil exhaustion may be attributed largely to the removal, mainly through cropping and leaching, of some one or all of the three named elements. 1934A. Toynbee Study of Hist. I. 126 As regards the possibility of soil-exhaustion, an observation of latter-day native agriculture in the area..seems to show that a repeated clearing and burning-off of the tropical forest..does tend..to exhaust the soil. 1946J. S. Huxley Unesco ii. 28 It is possible to exploit new agricultural methods in a way that is..disastrous to agriculture itself, by causing soil exhaustion or erosion. 1957G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. xvii. 896 The vitamins and accessory growth substances in soils and *soil extracts. 1971Gloss. Soil Sci. Terms (Soil Sci. Soc. Amer.) 15/2 Soil extract, the solution separated from a soil suspension or from a soil by filtration, centrifugation, suction, or pressure.
1921*Soil group [see soil surveyor below]. 1927C. F. Marbut tr. Glinka's Great Soil Groups p. iii, Some of the great soil groups have not been studied by Russian investigators. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 76 Mature and old soils in areas that are climatically alike are strikingly similar, and it is possible to classify them in soil groups that developed under similar climatic conditions. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. iv. 110 There is only limited regional association in the world distribution of type profiles or great soil groups. 1976A. Young Tropical Soils & Soil Survey xiii. 241 Although many of the soil groups [of the FAO classification of 1974] are natural soil types, this is structurally an artificial classification.
1923Soil Sci. XVI. 97 The relative amount of silica in the gray horizon appears to be higher than in the *soil horizons below. 1964W. C. Putnam Geology x. 245/1 The C-horizon is essentially a transitional zone between the true soil horizons above and the unaltered parent material below. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. iii. 93 All soil horizons have a three-dimensional form, but those that have a clearly visible colour and texture..are perhaps the most convincing examples.
1961Listener 12 Oct. 559/1 The changes that it [sc. soil science] recognizes in *soil mantles and geological solids are termed ‘weathering’. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 28 Although the soil body or soil mantle obviously has a three-dimensional form, it has been represented traditionally by a so-called ‘two-dimensional’ section or slice called the soil profile.
1898Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 43 One of the first necessities in the development of a new district or in the improvement of an established district is an accurate *soil map of the locality. 1899Yearbook U.S. Dept. Agric. 345 In 1892 the first soil map, based upon the texture and physical properties of soils, was issued. 1927N. M. Comber Introd. Scientific Study Soil xiii. 132 Two important bases of classification..have been invoked in the attempts to prepare soil maps of agricultural significance. 1975J. G. Evans Environment Early Man Brit. Isles vi. 138 W. F. Grimes was one of the first archaeologists to appreciate the importance of detailed soil maps in studying the settlement distribution of early man.
1920W. W. Weir Productive Soils ii. 22 (heading) *Soil mapping. 1928Proc. & Papers 1st Internat. Congr. Soil Sci. IV. 34 In the soil survey of the United States the term Soil Type has been applied to the unit of soil mapping. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 24 These men and many others, who have been responsible for selective soil mapping in countries like France..and Yugoslavia, have a history of soil research behind them going back to the nineteenth century.
1939G. Clark Archæol & Society ii. 38 In chalk regions subjected to heavy ploughing, *soil-marks, especially when seen from the air, preserve the sites of ancient monuments. 1950Oxoniensia XV. 7 The best results of an air-survey of Celtic field-systems may be expected from photographs taken during the winter months... Soil-marks..will be more evident. 1963E. S. Wood Collins Field Guide Archaeol. iii. i. 284 Another type of mark is the soil-mark. When earthworks or barrows are levelled, or when grass is stripped, or on bare (ploughed) land, differences in soil-colour become apparent.
1920Engin. News-Record 30 Sept. 630/1 (heading) Research in *soil mechanics. 1965A. B. Carson Foundation Constr. iii. 70/1 Despite the relative youth of the science of soil mechanics, the literature on the subject is extensive, particularly that relating the foundation structure to the..soil or rock formation upon which it will be built. 1977A. Hallam Planet Earth 104 The engineering geologist works with experts in the related fields of soil mechanics and rock mechanics.
[1928C. F. Marbut in Proc. & Papers 1st Internat. Congr. Soil Sci. IV. 51 Phase, a subdivision of the soil type covering departures from the typical soil characteristics, insufficient to justify the establishment of a new type, yet worthy of recognition.] 1939Yearbk. Agric. 1938 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 1174 *Soil phase. 1946Lutz & Chandler Forest Soils xii. 424 Soil phases as currently recognized appear to have more significance for the agriculturist than for the forester. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. viii. 235 Soil phase..can only be shown in detail and with precision on maps of 1:10,000 scale or larger.
1937C. A. Hogentogler et al. Engin. Properties Soil p. vii, Publications by the soil scientist, the *soil physicist, the agronomist, the pedologist, and the geologist have been drawn upon. 1976Physics Bull. Aug. 341/2 Soil physicists around the world are researching into an incredibly diverse range of phenomena, of which the diffusion of gases to and from plant roots..and the breakup of soil by tillage implements are just a few examples.
1900R. Warington Lect. Physical Properties Soil p. xi, The only early investigation on *soil physics is that of Schübler, made more than sixty years ago. 1935Nature 24 Aug. 307/1 In the Soil Physics Section, the main interest centred round problems of soil moisture. 1972[see soil chemistry above]. 1976Physics Bull. Aug. 341/2 Soil physics is the branch of soil science that is concerned with the physical constitution and geometrical structure of soil, with the potentials and movements of water, gases and heat in soil, and with the deformation of soil in response to mechanical stress.
a1864Gesner Practical Treatise on Coal, Petrol., etc. (1865) 27 The driving of the *soil-pipe..is the first thing done. This pipe is four inches in diameter,..and driven by a heavy block of wood, as in pile driving.
1927Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LXXXIII. 190 *Soil-polygons are divided into (a) ‘mud⁓polygons’, containing few or no stones, and (b) ‘stone⁓polygons’, in which stones are arranged in curious patterns over the surface of the mud. 1963D. W. & E. E. Humphries tr. Termier's Erosion & Sedimentation iv. 86 The periglacial zones are equally rich in detrital material and display phenomena completely comparable with those of hot deserts: loess, reg, soil polygons, ‘dreikanters’ and dunes. 1967M. J. Coe Ecol. Alpine Zone Mt. Kenya 71 On ridge tops, which are usually scattered with boulders and small stones, soil polygons are particularly common.
1906,1923*Soil profile [see profile n. 4 d]. 1928Forestry II. 15 A natural basis for the classification of soils..resulted from a study of what have come to be known as soil profiles, vertical exposures of sections of soil down to the unaltered parent rock. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 76 A mature soil profile exhibits well-developed horizons. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 28 Sometimes the soil profile is accepted as the basic unit of soil study.
1940C. A. Heiland Geophysical Explor. x. 646 As an example of the galvanic application of intermediate frequency methods, the *soil resistivity bridge..is illustrated. 1964R. F. Ficchi Electrical Interference viii. 153 Probably the biggest stumbling block in such analytical calculations is the vaguely defined soil-resistivity measurements. 1967Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 68 Soil resistivity survey, the determination of the electrical resistivity of the soil at intervals along the route of a main to assist in designing a cathodic protection system.
1902Bull. U.S. Fish Commission 1901 XXI. 58 For taking *soil samples an instrument was made after drawings in Delbecque. 1975New Yorker 28 Apr. 112/2 District-level officials are now collecting soil samples, so that in the future they can advise the co-ops on the most productive way to use their land.
1902*Soil sampler [see sampler n.2 2]. 1950N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. June 553/3 Holes may be dug with a spade, sunk with a post-hole borer, or cored with a soil sampler [in order to examine the structure of the soil].
1927E. L. Worthern Farm Soils 409/1 (Index), *Soil sampling. 1958J. Blish Case of Conscience (1959) iv. 41 We will start a soil-sampling programme. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 9 Feb. 97/3 Soil-sampling for ectoparasitic eel-worms may be worth a thought.
1915Chem. Abstr. IX. 1084 (heading) The development of *soil science from the earliest attempts to the beginning of the twentieth century. 1916(periodical title) Soil science. 1935Nature 24 Aug. 308/1 The very large number of papers dealing with the practical side of soil science..emphasised the dominating influence exerted on the development of soil science by modern economic conditions. 1938,1958[see pedology]. 1972Nature 28 Jan. 231/2 The most characteristic Russian contribution to science was soil science. 1979W. L. Pritchett Properties & Managem. Forest Soils p. v, Most of the basic principles of soil science apply to forest soils as well as to agricultural soils.
1921Proc. 41st Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci., 1920 (U.S.) 117 The *soil scientist must be concerned primarily with the accumulation or assimilation of knowledge concerning the soil without reference to the use to be made of that knowledge. 1958Times 1 July (Agric. Suppl.) p. ii/2 The plant breeder and the soil scientist have worked hand in hand; together they are responsible for disproving the gloomy prophecies of increasing world hunger so commonly heard only 10 years ago.
1928Proc. & Papers 1st Internat. Congr. Soil Sci. IV. 54 *Soil separate, one of the several grain-size groups into which the soil is separated by mechanical analysis. 1951Soil Survey Man. (U.S. Dept. Agric. Handbk. No. 18) 207 (heading) Size limits of soil separates from two schemes of analysis. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. ii. 55 These categories of particle size—sometimes called the soil separates—are mixed in any soil into what is called its texture.
1905Field Operations of U.S. Bur. Soils, 1904 35 Whenever there is a general relationship between these two classes of soils, due either to their geological origin, their method of formation, or their location within an area, a common distinctive locality name is used, and the soils thus grouped together are called a *soil series. 1946L. D. Stamp Britain's Struct. & Scenery xi. 95 Within each soil series there may be a considerable range of texture which is important ecologically. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 29 A soil series is a composite unit, but being the basic unit of soil mapping it is expected to be predominantly composed of one named soil profile type and confined to one parent material.
1962Listener 25 Jan. 174/2 The ground beyond the filter-bed is what we call *soil-sick.
1934Webster, *Soil sickness. 1938Encycl. Brit. Bk. of Year 111/1 Among more recent concepts is that of the possibility of beneficial root-excretions, to which the older view ascribed toxic properties and the responsibility for soil-sickness. 1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 9 Feb. 97/1 We have long been familiar with the potato root and sugar-beet eelworm..but other types are now known to cause ‘soil sickness’.
1901Bull. Div. Soils U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 17. 5 *Soil solutions from which plants draw their food are for the most part aqueous solutions of the mineral components of the soil. 1957G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. viii. 556 The over-all composition of soil solutions is in fact very similar to that of average river water. 1973Sci. Amer. May 48/2 Perhaps 5 percent of a plant's dry weight is minerals. Eight elements account for the bulk of this amount... All are normally present in the ‘soil solution’, as the water of the soil is called, at very low concentrations.
1934Proc. Amer. Soc. Testing Materials XXXIV. ii. 737 Investigations along the line suggested by Mr. Housel are also considered in our *soil stabilization work. 1950Engineering 13 Jan. 44/3 They were used in conjunction with processes of soil stabilisation in which the stability of the soil under traffic load is improved by adding clay, sand or gravel. 1969Capper & Cassie Mech. Engin. Soils (ed. 5) xi. 234 An important method of soil stabilization is by the use of resins.
191012th Rep. Michigan Acad. Sci. 52 A comparison of the Asulkan and Greenland *soil stripes with the great barrancas, suggests that the width of ridge..is in some way a function of the viscosity of the rock paste. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 89 Earth stripes or soil stripes are similar to stone stripes except that they have finer textures.
1900Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1899 26 A detailed *soil survey has been undertaken of the soils of Maryland. 1924[see separate n. 6]. 1966R. Ashworth Highway Engin. iii. 49 The soil survey involves an exploration of the soil conditions along the proposed road alignment by means of boreholes or trial pits. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 23 Some of the later private surveys have..introduced soil terms and definitions adopted later by the national soil surveys.
1921Proc. 41st Ann. Meeting Soc. Promotion Agric. Sci., 1920 (U.S.) 119 Before the *soil surveyor had mapped textural soil units over any considerable area he discovered that these units are not all alike, that they are not ultimate soil units therefore but soil groups.
1902Instructions to Field Parties & Descr. Soil Types (U.S. Bur. of Soils) 15 The selection of a provisional name for each *soil type should be made, and in all correspondence and reports this name should be used when speaking of the type. 1928Proc. & Papers 1st Internat. Congr. Soil Sci. IV. 41 The soil type is a subdivision of the soil series based primarily and almost wholly on the texture of the surface soil... The term Soil Type has been used by some writers with a more inclusive meaning, sometimes to indicate the general characteristics of the soils of a region. 1954W. D. Thornbury Princ. Geomorphol. iv. 78 A common soil series in the middle western states is the Miami series... Included in this series are such soil types as the Miami fine sandy loam, Miami loam, Miami silt loam, and Miami silty clay loam. 1967M. J. Coe Ecol. Alpine Zone Mt. Kenya 71 Soil movement and deformation are of great significance in governing the distribution of soil types and in their effect on vegetation. 1972J. G. Cruickshank Soil Geogr. i. 26 In 1904 the soil series was introduced to include all soil types developed on the same parent material.
1926Sci. Amer. Feb. 97/3 Erosion or *soil wash is impoverishing our sloping farm lands. 1962Soil wash [see sailab].
1892J. M. H. Munro Soils & Manures i. 25 What this *soil water contains we may see by examining the water running from the drain-pipes of any arable field when no crop is growing on it. 1921Discovery Feb. 47/1 Plants require moisture, and in taking this up by the root-hairs, they also take up their food, consisting of salts dissolved in the soil water. 1976Physics Bull. Aug. 343/3 One of the main obstacles to progress in the physics of soil water is the lack of quantitative methods for describing adequately the geometrical structure of soil at its various levels of organization.
▪ II. † soil, n.2 Obs.
Also 6–7 soyle.
[a. OF. soil, also soel, suel, sueil (mod.F. seuil) sill, threshold:—L. solium seat.]
1. = sill n.1 2, 3.
1447Will of Hen. VI, in Carter King's Coll. Chapel 12 A closette..unther the soil of the yle windows. 1533in Bayley Hist. Tower App. i. xvii, There ys wrought all the soyles and jawmes of twoo greate wyndowes. 1637in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 194 Raysing the 4 chappell windows..and putting in soyles of freestone. 1663Gerbier Counsel 77 Door cases, the Post..being six and five Inches head and soyle. 1679Moxon Mech. Exerc. ix. 172 Soils..are either Ground Sells..or Window Sells.
attrib.1634in Archaeologia XXXV. 197 In the kitchen..two soyle bords for wyndowes.
2. A lintel of a door or window.
1519W. Horman Vulg. 138, I hytte my heede ageynst the soyle or transumpt.
▪ III. soil, n.3|sɔɪl|
Forms: α. 5–7 soyle, 6 soyl(l; 5–7 soile, 6– soil, 7– dial. sile. β. 5 soule.
[Partly a. OF. *soille, souille (mod.F. souille, also dial. soille) fem., or soil, souil, etc. (mod. dial. souil, soui) masc., verbal ns. from souiller soil v.1; in part directly from the vb.]
I.
†1. A miry or muddy place used by a wild boar for wallowing in. Obs.
So F. souille; the phrase ‘to take soil’ corresponds to F. prendre souille. The forms soueil and seulg occur in OF. in the same sense, and Cotgrave gives soil, soeil, sueil.
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) v, Whan men hunteth þe boore, communlich þei go to þe soyle and soileth hem in þe drytte. And if þei be hurte, þe soile is hir medicyne. 1576Turberv. Venerie 154 At his departure from the soyl, you may perceiue it where he hath gone..: for he goeth out of the soyle all myerie and dyrtie. 1600Surflet Countrie Farme vii. xxvii. 853 The soile of the wilde bore being long, large, and great, doth note and argue the bore to bee great. 1611Cotgr., Se souiller (of a swine) to take soyle, or wallow in the mire. Ibid., Sueil,..the soyle of a wild Bore; the mire wherein hee commonly walloweth.
2. a. A pool or stretch of water, used as a refuge by a hunted deer or other animal. Freq. in the phr. † to go, or come, to soil; to take († the) soil.
(a)c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxxiii, When he..seeth þat betynge vppe þe ryueres and brokes,..nor goynge to soyle,..ne may not helpe. 1470–85Malory Arthur xviii. xxi. 764 Whan the hynde came to the welle, for hete she wente to soyle. c1535Fisher Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 441 As an harte, whan he is chased,..coueteth to come vnto the soile. 1576Turberv. Venerie 241 When an Hart or any Deare is forced to the water, we say he goeth to the Soyle. 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xxvi, Looking round him as a buck or stag looks when run to soil.
(b)1572J. Jones Bathes Buckstone 1 b, It is not unlikely that the Stagges or buckes wounded, would take soyle ther. 1576Turberv. Venerie 148 There are some lustie yong houndes which will neuer giue ouer a Goate nor suffer him to take Soyle. 1613W. Browne Brit. Past. i. iv, Fida went..to seeke the Hinde; And found her taking soyle within a flood. 1735Somerville Chase iii. 546 He..Then takes the Soil, and plunges in the Flood Precipitant. 1810Sporting Mag. XXXV. 87 Previously to his taking soil, he lay down under the same tree. 1844W. H. Maxwell Wanderings in Highl. & Isl. I. iii. 97 Last Tuesday a fox took soil; I swam the river, got the brush [etc.]. 1885Field 4 Apr. 427/1 The hounds working up to their deer, he..crossed..to the brook, where he took soil.
(c)1486Bk. St. Albans E vij b, At that oder side of the water iff he vp sterte, Then shall ye call hit the soule of the hert. 1600Fairfax Tasso vi. cix, A chased hinde her course doth bend To seeke by soile to finde some ease or good. 1612Drayton Poly-olb. xiii. 137 The noble, stately deer..Doth beat the brooks and ponds for sweet refreshing soil. 1633P. Fletcher Poet. Misc. 86 As an hart with sweat and bloud embrued..thirsts in the soil to be. 1674N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. (1677) i. 78 The last Refuge of a Hart sorely hunted is the Water (which, according to Art, is termed the Soil).
†b. In fig. use. Obs.
1592Lyly Midas iv. iii, There was a boy leasht on the single, because when he was imbost, he tooke soyle. 1614B. Jonson Bart. Fair i. iii. (1904) 15 O Sir, ha' you tane soyle, here? it's well, a man may reach you, after 3 houres running, yet! 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. lix. (1651) 178 The King..singles out the Archbishop, and hunts him to soil at Rome.
II.
3. a. Staining or soiling; the fact of being soiled or stained; a stain or discolouring mark.
1501Bury Wills (Camden) 83 A cloth bougth to saue the sayd tabernacle from soyle. 1572in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 409 By the fowlnes bothe of the weye and wether and soyll of the wereres. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. i. ii, Twere best you..lay in private till the soile of griefe Were cleard your cheeke. 1679C. Nesse Antichrist Ded., As a dark soil in a well drawn picture. 1726Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 35 That is always best which,..laid upon a white Cloth, makes the least Soil. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §316 note, The burning of the lamps was found to produce a greater Soil upon the inside of the glasses, than candles. 1816Jane Taylor Contrib. by Q.Q. (1855) III. 15 This dress is less liable to take a soil than any other material. 1885Harper's Mag. Jan. 318/2 The very garments of a Quaker seem incapable of receiving a soil.
b. spec. (See quot.)
1843Holtzapffel Turning I. 445 Lead works are first smeared or soiled around the intended joints, with a mixture of size and lamp-black, called soil.
c. Dirt or discolouring matter on cloth.
1959Meredith & Hearle Physical Methods Investigation Textiles xiv. 376 Both the soiling of textiles and the removal of dirt from them can be investigated by using soils containing radioactive materials. 1968E. R. Trotman Textile Scouring & Bleaching iii. 74 It [sc. the material] is then scoured under controlled conditions with the detergent under investigation, and the amount of soil removed is measured. 1975J. Labarthe Elem. Textiles vii. 325 Soil may be deposited on and be made to cling to some of these fabrics as the result of static electricity.
4. fig. Moral stain or tarnish.
Frequent from c 1600 to 1650. An example of OF. souille in a similar use is given by Godefroy.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. v. 190 For all the soyle of the Atchieuement goes With me, into the Earth. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. iii, If the least soyle of lust smeers my pure love. 1641Milton Reform. ii. Wks. 1851 III. 44 With him shee found the purest, and quietest retreat, as being most remote from soile, and disturbance. 1756Johnson in Boswell (Oxf. ed.) I. 203 To wear off by meditation any worldly soil contracted in the week. 1770Foote Lame Lover iii. Wks. 1799 II. 91 There is not a soul..that can lay the least soil, the least spot, on my virtue. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Note-bks. II. 183 Disburdening herself of the soil of worldly frailties, and receiving absolution. 1888Mrs. Oliphant Joyce I. 174 He was good as an angel or a child—there was no soil in him.
III. †5. Sexual intercourse. Obs.
In quot. 1603 perh. a misuse of soil n.4: cf. Markham Caval. (1607) i. vi. 37 where ‘soyle and couering’ are mentioned together.
1555W. Watreman Fardle Facions ii. xi. 251 Specially, if he haue been late at the soile with a woman. 1603Florio Montaigne ii. xv. (1632) 346, I have..put forth an old stalion to soile [F. au haras], who before did no sooner see or smell a Mare [etc.].
IV.
6. Filth; dirty or refuse matter. Also fig.
1608A. Willet Hexapla Exod. 626 The lampes were..clensed from the soile..gathered in the night. 1611J. Davies (Heref.) Wit's Pilgr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 32/2 Wee should not then lie soaking in shames Soile. 1688Bunyan Water of Life Wks. 1855 III. 554 Whatever it be that this water of life washeth not, it is soil and given to the curse. 1691Ray N.C. Words, Sile, filth. [Hence in Bailey, Grose, etc.] 1736Pegge Alph. Kenticisms, Soil, filth and dirt in corn; as, the seeds of several sorts of weeds, and the like.
7. Filth and other matter usually carried off by drains; sewage. In techn. use, liquid matter likely to contain excrement. Cf. waste n. 12 c.
1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 69 Strabo writeth that the Romans excelleth the Grecians in clenlinesse of their citties by reason of their channels to conuay away the soyle. 1730A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 360 The Use of these Conduits was..to receive and discharge the Urine and other Soil. 1778England's Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Bristol, Gutters that are made under ground for carrying off the soil into the rivers. 1842Gwilt Encycl. Archit. §2215 Those [pipes]..for carrying away the soil from a water closet. 1868A. Dawson Rambling Recoll. 6 The domestic soil was discharged via the window. 1928E. T. Swinson Sanitation of Buildings xiv. 246 Lead pipes used for soil, ventilating, and waste purposes in London must be of drawn lead. 1973H. King Do your own Home Plumbing ix. 87 Many older houses have a two-pipe plumbing system consisting of separate waste and soil services. 1977E. Hall Home Plumbing vii. 57/1 From the point of view of drainage, bidets are regarded as being ‘waste’, not ‘soil’ fittings.
8. a. Ordure, excrement; the dung of animals used as a compost; manure. Cf. also night-soil.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 106 A good woodman must not stick to gather up the deers excrement or soil. a1639W. Whately Prototypes i. iv. (1640) 30 The profitable sheep is..beneficial..also for her soyle. 1670J. Smith Eng. Improv. Reviv'd 12 Great Rains will wash down the Dung or soyl therefrom, and much enrich those grounds it runs into. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 340 To extirpate the heath, by means of water and the droping soil of cattle, especially of sheep. 1817[R. D. C. Brown] Lintoun Green ii. xli. 32 To his waist..'Midst muck and soil. 1823E. Moor Suffolk Words 350 Sile, soil, night soil. 1848H. Gavin Sanitary Ramb. 12 The soil, itself, is removed from these [privy-] holes, and is dug into the ground to promote its fertility.
b. (See quots.)
1879Good Words 740/1 Here are carts laden with sifted ‘soil’, so much like gunpowder... The fine dust or ‘soil’ is used for manure. 1883N. & Q. 6th Ser. VII. 178/2 Soil: this term is used for the fine ashes screened out from the breeze.
9. attrib. and Comb., as soil-carrier, soil-hole, soil-man; soil-pipe, a sewage or waste-water pipe; spec. (see quot. 1928); soil-release a., causing the loosening of dirt from cloth during washing; also as n., such a substance; soil-tank (see quot. 1851).
1737J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. II. 224 King's Privy⁓kitchen: Vincent Bene, Soil Carrier.
1825Beverley Lighting Act ii. 21 Regulations as to privies and soil-holes.
1810Hull Improv. Act 50 No scavenger or dustman, soilman or other person.
1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §490 A basin with a soil pipe. 1876W. P. Buchan Plumbing xiv. 90 When soil-pipes and waste-pipes are put up inside the house, great care should be taken that they are properly fitted up. 1879St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 602 She was living in a house where the soil-pipe of the water-closet was defective. 1928H. E. Babbitt Plumbing ix. 156 A soil pipe is any drainage pipe which carries human excrement... A waste pipe carries waste water which does not include human excrement. 1962New Statesman 21 Dec. 897/3 Any fit man, given a certain amount of practice, can climb a soil pipe up to the first floor. 1978T. Pettit Home Plumbing x. 53/2 Other waste pipes can be run into the soil pipe by means of a range of solvent-welded bossed fittings.
1969A. J. Hall Stand. Handbk. Textiles (ed. 7) v. 340 To overcome such difficulties..‘soil-release’ agents have become available. These can be applied to the textile materials..during their production, or immediately before washing. 1969[see Oxford cloth s.v. Oxford]. 1977D. S. Lyle Performance Textiles v. 219 Soil release finishes permit relatively easy removal of soils (especially oily soils) in laundering.
1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. (1864) II. 495/2 ‘Soil-tanks’ were the filth receptacles of the larger houses, and sometimes works of solid masonry.
▪ IV. soil, n.4 Now local.|sɔɪl|
Also 7 soyl(e, soile.
[Cf. soil v.4]
†1. The feeding of horses on cut green fodder, so as to cause purgation. Obs.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 358 If the Horse go to soil in April, after five days..wash him all over with water. 1607Markham Caval. v. vii. 42 Of the soile, or scowring horses with grasse... I wold haue you onelie to put him to the soyle within the house: that is to say, you shal..feede your horse onely with grasse.
2. Fresh-cut meadow-grass or other green fodder.
1868N. & Q. 4th Ser. II. 30/2 His [a horse's] rack was every morning filled with what was called soil, that is,..fresh growing meadow-grass. Ibid. 308/2 To grow a crop for soil or soiling.
▪ V. † soil, n.5
In 6 soyle.
[f. soil v.2]
The solution of a problem.
c1600Shakes. Sonn. lxix. 14 Why thy odor matcheth not thy show, The soyle is this, that thou doest common grow.
▪ VI. † soil, n.6 Obs.—1
In 6 soyle.
(Obscure.)
Possibly an error for spoyle, although this is the rime-word in the second line of the stanza.
1596Spenser F.Q. iv. iii. 16 As when two Tygers..cruell battell twixt themselues doe make, Whiles neither lets the other touch the soyle.
▪ VII. soil
dial. variant of sile n.1 and n.3.
▪ VIII. soil, v.1|sɔɪl|
Forms: 3 suilen, 5 suyle, sule; 3–4 soilen, 4–7 soyle, 5–7 soile (5 sole); 6–7 soyl, 7– soil.
[ad. OF. suill(i)er, soill(i)er, etc. (mod.F. souiller), = Prov. sulhar, app.:—pop. Lat. *suculāre, f. L. suculus or sucula, dim. of sus pig.]
I. trans.
1. To defile or pollute with sin or other moral stain. Also absol.
a1225Ancr. R. 84 Oðer speche soileð & fuleð. Ibid. 158 Men þet suiled hore lippen mid misliche spechen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7209 Prustes..mid lechors mod Al isoyled. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 336 Alle manir þingus Þat mihte vs soile wiþ sinne. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 985 Thow art soyled..Off the synne orygynal. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 62 My soule was soyld with foule iniquitie. 1835Lytton Rienzi ii. iv, The instruments he must use soil himself:..the times will corrupt the reformer. 1842Manning Serm. i. (1848) I. 5 The lusts of the flesh soiled his spiritual being.
2. a. To make foul or dirty, esp. on the surface; to begrime, stain, tarnish. Also spec., of a child or patient: to make foul by defecation (esp. when involuntary); freq. absol. Hence ˈsoiler.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8971 Wanne he þi mouþ cusste Þat so villiche isoiled is. c1305St. Edmund in E.E.P. (1862) 71 So drie þat no cloþ..noþing isoilled nas. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 458 Thus haukyn þe actyf man hadde ysoiled his cote. c1450Lovelich Merlin (E.E.T.S.) 11383 With his swerd on honde, that soyled hit was with hors blood & mennes. 1530Palsgr. 724/2, I soyle, I fyle a thynge with wearyng so that the glosse of it dothe fade, je salle. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 125 That our kingdomes earth should not be soyld With that deere blood which it hath fostered. 1638Junius Paint. Ancients 229 Much handling soileth things and maketh them lose their brightnesse. 1687Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., To soil (or slur) his Clothes, salir ses Habits. 1784Cowper Task iv. 555 The stain Appears a spot upon a vestal's robe, The worse for what it soils. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 360 Instead of it we have an earthy opaque powder which soils the hands. 1892Photogr. Ann. II. 337 At any time the covering gets soiled or damaged, a fresh one can be attached. 1943, etc. [implied in soiling vbl. n.1 1 b]. 1943Our Towns (Women's Group on Public Welfare) iii. 85 The mother of the enuretic and the soiler does not teach her child..control of its natural functions. 1956Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Dec. 1390/1 The mother or other adults show no resentment or disgust when the child soils the floor or the body of the person caring for it.
absol.1805–17Jameson Char. Min. 257 When a mineral taken between the fingers, or drawn across another body, leaves some particles, or a trace, it is said to soil or colour. 1821― Man. Min. 85 It is composed of dull dusty particles, which are feebly cohering. Soils feebly. a1961in Webster, s.v. 1soil, Patients also showed infantile reactions..continually wetting and soiling. 1977New Society 17 Feb. 333/1 When she started school she still wet and soiled by day and night.
b. fig. and in fig. context.
a1623Pemble Grace & Faith (1635) 48 This water was much soyled by them with the mudde of many idle fables. 1680Otway Orphan ii. iv, You have soyl'd this Gem, and taken from its value. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. xx. 15 But soon as vulgar Hands thy Beauty soil, The Moth shall batten on the silent Spoil. 1805Scott Last Minstr. v. xx, Foul treason's stain, Since he bore arms, ne'er soil'd his coat.
c. To treat by smearing.
1843Holtzapffel Turning I. 445 Lead works are first smeared or soiled around the intended joints, with a mixture of size and lamp-black, called soil.
3. fig.
a. To sully or tarnish; to bring disgrace or discredit upon (a person or thing).
1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 23 Either I must, or haue mine honor soyl'd With th' Attaindor of his sland'rous Lippes. 1596Sir T. More (Malone Soc.) 1220 The good Emperour..will not soyle his honor with the theft of Englishe spoyle. 1602Marston Ant. & Mel. v. Wks. 1856 I. 64, I am come To soyle thy house with an eternall blot. 1678Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 604 Angel hath so soiled you by representing some very late treating..that it will be difficult to wash off those suggestions. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. iv. iv, Black falsehood has ineffaceably soiled her name. 1891Spectator 29 Aug., Subjects that have been much soiled and confused by the host of impostors.
†b. To charge (a person) falsely with something; to asperse. Obs.—1
1642R. Carpenter Experience i. xviii. 122 They brought in the arme of a dead man, with intention to soyle him with murther and sorcerie.
4. intr. To become dirty or stained; to take on a stain or tarnish.
1530Palsgr. 724/2, I love to weare satten of Bruges, but it wyll soyle anone. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 35 To lifte the Gentlewomens roabes from the grounde, for soyling in the duste. 1882Imperial Dict. IV. 127/2 Silver soils sooner than gold.
II.
5. intr. and † refl. Of a wild boar or deer: To roll or wallow in mud or water.
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, Þenne he will go into þe stanke and shalle soile hym þer. Ibid. v, Whan men hunteth þe boore, communlich þei go to þe soyle and soileth hem in þe drytte. 1570Levins Manip. 214 To soyle as a sowe, luto volutare. 1884Jefferies Red Deer vi. 102 A stag generally drinks before entering the cover, and afterwards ‘soils’, that is, lies down and rolls in the water.
6. Of a hunted stag: To take to water or marshy ground; † to swim down.
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, Somtyme he shall soyle downe with þe water halfe a myle or more or he come to londe. c1470Hors, Shepe & G. (Roxb.) 29 Assone as he [a hart] taketh the Riuer, he suleth. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Soyl, when any Deer is hard Hunted, and betakes himself to Swimming in any River. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest viii, The stag made for a swampy ground..and stood at bay... ‘He has soiled,’ said Edward. 1906Westm. Gaz. 4 Oct. 4/3 The pack streamed away..to Chalk Water, where the stag soiled.
III. †7. To cohabit with. (Cf. soil n.3 5.) Obs.
1722Steele Conscious Lovers iv. ii, Such a Husband soils with his Wife for a Month perhaps—then Good b'w'y' Madam—the Show's over.
▪ IX. † soil, v.2 Obs.
Forms: 4–7 soyle, 5–6 soylle, 6 soyl; 4–7 soile, 4–5 soill, 6 soil, Sc. soilȝe.
[ad. OF. soille pres. subj. or soil pres. ind. of soldre, soudre:—L. solvĕre to release, loosen: see assoil v.]
1. trans. To absolve (a person) from sin, etc.; = assoil v. 1.
a1300Cursor M. 29379 Þe man þat has þam for to yeme Mai soill þam and þair mendes deme. 13..Incestuous Daughter 127 in Herrig Archiv LXXIX. 422 Þe prest soylyd hyme of his synnys. 13..K. Alis. 7926 (W.), So God me soile, Thou schalt have Calabre and Poyle. c1400Ploughman's T. in Pol. Poems (Rolls) I. 333 Of the bishop he hath powere To soile men or els they been lore. 1530Palsgr. 724/2, I soyle from synne, je assouls.
2. To set free of, release from, an obligation, etc. Cf. assoil v. 3.
1382Wyclif 1 Macc. x. 33 Eche soule..Y leue wilfully with out money; that alle be soiled of her tributis. 1402J. Upland 427 in Skeat's Chaucer VII. 203 Whan ye han assoiled me that I have said,..I shall soill thee of thyne order, and save thee to heven!
3. To resolve, clear up, expound, or explain; to answer (a question).
1382Wyclif Judges xiv. 12 Y shal purpose to ȝow a dowtous word, the which if ȝe soylen to me [etc.]. 1491Caxton Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) i. xciii. 127 b/2 Thy questyons ben lyghte to soylle, and lyghte to be answerde. 1533Bellenden Livy iii. xviii. (S.T.S.) II. 21 To soilȝe this questioun ane law was promulgate in comites centuriat. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 309, I have not learned to soyle no riedles. 1603Harsnet Pop. Impost. 77 Now a few questions I must soyle, and then I wil proceede to your holy geare. 1611Cotgr., Souldre, to..cleere, or soile, a doubt.
4. To refute (an argument or objection); to overcome by argument; = assoil v. 7.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 432 Herby Aristotle soyliþ an argument, bi whiche it myȝte seme to folis þat kynde failiþ to man. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 660/1 It is impossible..for Tyndall..to soyle the reason and auoyde it. 1567Jewel Def. Apol. iv. i. 359 To avouche and proue the Truthe: After that to soile the obiections brought againste the Truthe.
▪ X. † soil, v.3 Obs.
Also 6–7 soyle, 7 soile, soyl.
[f. soil n.3 9.]
trans. To supply or treat (land) with dung or other fertilizing matter; to manure.
1593Norden Spec. Brit., M'sex & Herts. ii. 18 About the towne is a kinde of chalke,..a stonie Marle, more fit to make lime then to soyle the grounde. 1610W. Folkingham Art Surv. i. x. 24 Brittle and fickle Mould..is best soyled with well rotted horse-dung. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxxi. 123 The distribution of this goodly commodity..to manure their ground, which soyled with it, bears three crops in one year. 1692South Serm. (1697) I. 395 Just as they Soyl their Ground, not that they love the Dirt, but that they expect a Crop.
▪ XI. soil, v.4|sɔɪl|
[? f. soil n.3 8.]
1. trans. To feed (horses, cattle, etc.) on fresh-cut green fodder, originally for the purpose of purging; † to feed up or fatten (fowls).
1605[see soiled ppl. a.2]. 1611Beaum. & Fl. Philaster v. iii, I'le..send you Brawn and Bacon, and soil you every long vacation a brace of foremen, that at Michaelmas shall come up fat and kicking. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5325/1 He designs..to stay about three Weeks at Perez.., to Soil his Cavalry according to the Customs of the Turks. 1736Pegge Kenticisms (E.D.S.) s.v., To soil horses, is to scour or purge 'em, by giving 'em green meat, as tares, green clover, and the like. 1776A. Young Tour Irel. (1780) I. 172 A few sow clover, which increases, to mow for soiling their cows. 1812Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 352 Milch cows give more milk when soiled than when pastured. 1840Penny Cycl. XXII. 192/2 The great advantage of soiling cattle is the increase of manure of the best quality, which is thereby produced. 1868N. & Q. 4th Ser. II. 308/2 To soil a horse with clover or vetches.
2. With off: To employ, make use of, as fodder for soiling cattle, etc. ? Obs.
1778[W. H. Marshall] Minutes Agric., Observ. 30 This part was soiled-off or plowed-in. 1789Trans. Soc. Arts I. 155 Vetches, which were soiled, or fed off, with sheep.
▪ XII. soil, v.5
[f. soil n.1 7.]
trans. To earth up.
1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 92, I soiled the drills up again.
▪ XIII. soil
obs. var. sile v.2 |