Etymograph

English

soil

Soil comes from Middle English soile, partly from Anglo-Norman soyl, from Latin solium (confused with solum ‘ground’), partly from Old English sol.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsolium1‘seat, throne’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400soyl1‘bottom, ground’uncertain
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soile1‘ground, earth’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1603soil1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English soil
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, John Marston, John Webster: “As Deere being ſtrucke flie thorow many ſoiles, /…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsoliumWiktionary, English soil‘seat, throne’
  2. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400soylWiktionary, English soil‘bottom, ground’uncertain
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soileWiktionary, English soil‘ground, earth’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1603soilWiktionary, English soil. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, John Marston, John Webster: “As Deere being ſtrucke flie thorow many ſoiles, /…”

The story

For the sole and soil relation, compare typologically Russian по́чва (póčva) akin to подо́шва (podóšva).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with soil, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *sūl- ‘thick liquid’

  • sully ← sulen ← sylian ← *sulwōn

through Latin solum ‘ground, foundation, earth, sole of the foot’

6 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of soil

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sūl-‘thick liquid’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sulwōnąreconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150solian‘to soil’
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*saulijanreconstructed
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400soillier
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soilen
  7. Englishtodaysoil

Another origin of soil

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sūl-‘thick liquid’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*saulijō‘mud, puddle, feces’reconstructed
  3. Frankishc. 250–700*sōljareconstructed
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400soil
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500soyl
  6. Englishtodaysoil

Another origin of soil

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400saoler
  2. Englishtodaysoil

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Today it means

noun A mixture of mineral particles and organic material, used to support plant growth.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “soil”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin solium / soil