shawl
Americannoun
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 Ava Gardner of 1987, in her knitted shawl and high-bridge spectacles, seems to carry no sense of mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Tears streamed from the eyes of Uwde Sliman, a 40-year-old Ethiopian draped in a white shawl, as she came out of the church.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
The song, performed on the programme barefoot, in a pair of golden-feathered trousers and a red shawl, was followed by a debut album last May.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
Each dress came accompanied by a matching shawl that Ross would eventually toss to the stage to be retrieved by a waiting assistant who seemed to know precisely when it would happen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2025
A box of new paints, a butter-yellow silk saree, a gray woolen shawl, and a pot of juicy roshogollah paraded before her eyes.
From "Rickshaw Girl" by Mitali Perkins
At the family house, Khaled's grandmother Najah Bani Odeh sat surrounded by mourners in tightly wrapped woollen shawls and headscarves in black, white and brown.
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2026
Another, Ben Brierley, enlisted his family in making shawls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Young poet Gurpreet Saini, who performs at cultural festivals across India, says he sources his shawls - printed with ombre Gurmukhi letters - from Hariana, his hometown in Punjab, for a distinctive look.
From BBC ● May 31, 2025
Keep blankets or shawls available for guests in case the temperature drops during the evening.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
Lights blazed everywhere as shawls of rain unfurled around them.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Definitions 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.
