shawl
Americannoun
-
shawls
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of shawl
First recorded in 1655–65, shawl is from the Persian word shāl
Explanation
A shawl is a wide scarf that's worn across the shoulders. If you're attending a fancy party on a cold night, you might wear a soft shawl over your dress. The word shawl comes from Persian, and is most likely rooted in Sanskrit. This garment first appeared in South Asia, and different regions have varied styles of traditional shawls. Any wide, square piece of fabric that you use to keep warm, cover your head, or even wrap a baby in can be called a shawl.
Vocabulary lists containing shawl
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 3
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Zara's Rules for Record-Breaking Fun
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Just Right Jillian
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The mother of The Times’ art critic chose to evacuate with some silverware and a Spanish shawl, “in case we needed to sell something.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
In a realistic 1870s monument for a member of the Piaggio family, a dead man’s widow, shown leaving the door of a tomb, is wearing an elaborate lace shawl and mourning through her sculpted eyelashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
She looked perfectly angelic in an all-white glittery dress, complete with a flowing fur shawl.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
But several wore a red hat, scarf or shawl, recalling the designer's signature colour.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
My middle sister, Celia, sat on the wall of the yard, knitting a shawl.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Residents used shawls and umbrellas to protect themselves in open-air hallways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Another, Ben Brierley, enlisted his family in making shawls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
For his buyers, the shawls are a sign of luxury.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
Vendors with embroidered shawls and dresses, bright Catrinas and sugar skulls.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
They have long hair, long skirts, jeans and overalls, earrings, caps like construction workers’, lavender shawls.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
