shoal
pronunciation
How to pronounce shoal in British English:
UK [ʃəʊl]
How to pronounce shoal in American English:
US [ʃoʊl]
-
- Noun:
- a sandbank in a stretch of water that is visible at low tide
- a stretch of shallow water
- a large group of fish
-
- Verb:
- make shallow
- become shallow
Word Origin
- shoal
- shoal: English has two distinct words shoal. ‘Shallow area’ [16] is descended from the Old English adjective sceald ‘shallow’, which in turn came from prehistoric Germanic *skaldaz. (English shallow [15] is related, although it is not clear precisely how.) Shoal of fish [16] is simply a reborrowing of Middle Dutch schōle, which had earlier been taken over as school.=> school
- shoal (n.1)
- "place of shallow water," c. 1300, from Old English schealde (adj.), from sceald "shallow," from Proto-Germanic *skala- (cognates: Swedish skäll "thin;" Low German schol, Frisian skol "not deep"), of uncertain origin. The terminal -d was dropped 16c.
- shoal (n.2)
- "large number" (especially of fish), 1570s, apparently identical with Old English scolu "band, troop, crowd of fish" (see school (n.2)); but perhaps rather a 16c. adoption of cognate Middle Dutch schole.
- shoal (v.)
- "assemble in a multitude," c. 1600, from shoal (n.2). Related: Shoaled; shoaling.
Example
- 1. For example , the hungriest fish take point position in a foraging shoal .
- 2. Thephilippines , too , made a show of protecting marine life at scarborough shoal .
- 3. The greatest shoal on earth .
- 4. The scarborough shoal standoff began last month when chinese vessels prevented philippine authorities from arresting chinese fishermen they suspected of illegally operating in the disputed territory .
- 5. They echoed recent calls by the government of president benigno aquino iii for china to end its claims of sovereignty over the scarborough shoal .