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Sole

//səʊl// adj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective

1
Only. not-comparable
"He saw now clearly that the sole crew of the vessel was these two dead men, and though he could not see their faces, he saw by their outstretched hands, which were all of ragged flesh, that they had been subjected to some strange exceptional process of decay."
2
Unmarried (especially of a woman); widowed. not-comparable
3
Unique; unsurpassed. not-comparable
"The sole brilliance of this gem."
4
With independent power; unfettered. not-comparable
"A sole authority."

Adjective

1
not divided or shared with others wordnet
2
being the only one; single and isolated from others wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A sea area, corresponding to the Sole Bank, to the north of FitzRoy

Noun

1
The bottom or plantar surface of the foot.
2
A wooden band or yoke put around the neck of an ox or cow in the stall. dialectal, obsolete
3
A pond or pool; a dirty pond of standing water. Northern-England, dialectal
4
right-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European wordnet
5
The bottom of a shoe or boot.
"The Caliga was a military Shoe, with a very thick Sole, tied above the instep with leather Thongs."

Show 14 more definitions

6
the underside of footwear or a golf club wordnet
7
The foot itself. obsolete
"Hast wandred through the world now long a day;Yet ceasest not thy wearie soles to lead"
8
the underside of the foot wordnet
9
Solea solea, a flatfish of the family Soleidae; a true sole.
"The fishermen crowding in the cafés were also waiting for the end of the storm, when the fish, reassured, would rise to the surface after the bait. Soles, hog fish and skate were returning from their nocturnal expeditions. Day was now breaking."
10
lean flesh of any of several flatfish wordnet
11
A flatfish resembling those of the family Soleidae. broadly
12
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The bottom of the body of a plough; the slade.
13
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The bottom of a furrow.
14
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The end section of the chanter of a set of bagpipes.
15
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The horny substance under a horse's foot, which protects the more tender parts.
16
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The bottom of an embrasure.
17
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; A piece of timber attached to the lower part of the rudder, to make it even with the false keel.
"The rudder remains to be repaired, and is unshipped for the purpose; the sole of it is entirely gone"
18
The bottom or lower part of anything, or that on which anything rests in standing.; The floor inside the cabin of a yacht or boat
19
The seat or bottom of a mine; applied to horizontal veins or lodes.

Verb

1
To put a sole on a shoe or a boot. transitive
2
To pull by the ears; to pull about; haul; lug. UK, dialectal, transitive
3
put a new sole on wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English sole, soule, from Old French sol, soul (“alone”), from Latin sōlus (“alone, single, solitary, lonely”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *swé (reflexive pronoun). Perhaps related to Old Latin sollus (“whole, complete”), from Proto-Indo-European *solh₂- (“safe, healthy”). More at save.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sole, soole, from Old English sole, solu. Reinforced by Anglo-Norman sole, Old French sole, from Vulgar Latin *sola (“bottom of the shoe”, also “flatfish”), from Latin solea (“sandal, bottom of the shoe”), from Proto-Indo-European *swol- (“sole”). Cognate with Dutch zool (“sole, tread”), German Sohle (“sole, insole, bottom, floor”), Danish sål (“sole”), Icelandic sóli (“sole, outsole”), Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰 (sulja, “sandal”). Related to Latin solum (“bottom, ground, soil”). More at soil. Compare typologically Russian по́чва (póčva) akin to подо́шва (podóšva).

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

From Middle English sole, soole, from Old English sāl (“a rope, cord, line, bond, rein, door-hinge, necklace, collar”), from Proto-Germanic *sailą, *sailaz (“rope, cable”), *sailō (“noose, rein, bondage”), from Proto-Indo-European *sey- (“to tie to, tie together”). Cognate with Scots sale, saile (“halter, collar”), Dutch zeel (“rope, cord, strap”), German Seil (“rope, cable, wire”), Icelandic seil (“a string, line”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian dell (“sinew, vein”).

Etymology 5

From Middle English sol, from Old English sol (“mire, miry place”), from Proto-Germanic *sulą (“mire, wallow, mud”), from Proto-Indo-European *sūl- (“thick liquid”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian soal (“ditch”), Dutch sol (“water and mud filled pit”), German Suhle (“mire, wallow”), Norwegian saula, søyla (“mud puddle”). More at soil.

Etymology 6

From earlier sowle (“to pull by the ear”). Origin unknown. Perhaps from sow (“female pig”) + -le, as in the phrase "take a sow by the wrong ear", or from Middle English sole (“rope”). See above.

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