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What does “blatherskite” mean?
a person given to voluble, empty talk.
an ancient Greek or Roman farce that depended for effect largely upon ludicrous actions and gestures.
a check whose amount has been raised by forgery before cashing.
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Origin of shoal

1
before 900; (adj.) Middle English (Scots ) shald,Old English scealdshallow; (noun and v.) derivative of the adj.

Words nearby shoal

shnaps, SHO, Shoa, shoad, Shoah, shoal, shoaly, shoat, shochet, shock, shock absorber

Definition for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2
[ shohl ]
/ ʃoʊl /

noun

any large number of persons or things.
a school of fish: a shoal of herring;a shoal of mackerel.

verb (used without object)

to collect in a shoal; throng.

Origin of shoal

2
First recorded in 1570–80; earlier shole, probably from Middle Dutch, Middle Low German schōle, with sound-substitution of sh- for Low German skh-;cf. school2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to shoal

reef, bar, shallow, mass, bank, sandbank

Example sentences from the Web for shoal

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (1 of 2)

shoal1
/ (ʃəʊl) /

noun

a stretch of shallow water
a sandbank or rocky area in a stretch of water, esp one that is visible at low water

verb

to make or become shallow
(intr) nautical to sail into shallower water

adjective Also: shoaly

a less common word for shallow
nautical (of the draught of a vessel) drawing little water

Derived forms of shoal

shoaliness, noun

Word Origin for shoal

Old English sceald shallow

British Dictionary definitions for shoal (2 of 2)

shoal2
/ (ʃəʊl) /

noun

a large group of certain aquatic animals, esp fish
a large group of people or things

verb

(intr) to collect together in such a group

Word Origin for shoal

Old English scolu; related to Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōle school ²
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for shoal

shoal
[ shōl ]

A submerged mound or ridge of sediment in a body of shallow water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.