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Question 1 of 7
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Origin of shoal

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English adjective shold(e), Old English scealdshallow; noun and verb derivative of the adjective

Other definitions 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. 2023

How to use shoal in a sentence

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.
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