shawl

[shawl]

noun

1. a square, triangular, or oblong piece of wool or other material worn, especially by women, about the shoulders, or the head and shoulders, in place of a coat or hat outdoors, and indoors as protection against chill or dampness.

shawl

/ ʃɔːl /

noun

1. a piece of fabric or knitted or crocheted material worn around the shoulders by women or wrapped around a baby

Other Word Forms

• shawlless adjective
• shawllike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of shawl¹

First recorded in 1655–65, shawl is from the Persian word shāl

Word History and Origins

Origin of shawl¹

C17: from Persian shāl

Example Sentences

Abruptly she reached into the many folds of her shawl; out came a deck of large, rectangular cards.

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Quickly, they draped him in a traditional shawl.

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“Her habit is to clutch privacy about her like a shawl,” Time Magazine wrote in 1977, the year that “Annie Hall” and “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” established Keaton as a kooky sweetheart with serious range.

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There’s the pink shawl that keeps getting taken away from her, and the dance-like physicality of her movements.

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"Heritage isn't just about grand monuments", one follower commented, "but about the things people carried when they left their homes, books, shawls and family recipes".

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Related Words

• cloth 
• scarf 
• stole