SOIL

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers that are primarily composed of minerals, mixed with at least some organic matter, which differ from their parent materials in terms of their texture, structure, consistency, color, chemical, biological and/or other characteristics. Colloquially, soil is viewed as the loose covering of mineral particles that thinly overlie the earth's surface. Soil is the end product of the influence of the climate, relief, biotic activities, and parent materials acting over periods of time. In horticulture, the term 'soil' is defined as the layer that contains organic material that influences and has been influenced by plant roots, and ...

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soil

Noun

  1. A mixture of sand and organic material, used to support plant growth.
  2. The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
  3. The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that has been subjected to and shows effects of genetic and environmental factors of: climate (including water and temperature effects), and macro- and microorganisms, conditioned by relief, acting on parent material over a period of time. A product-soil differs from the material from which it is derived in many physical, chemical, biological, and morphological properties and characteristics.
  4. Country or territory.
    The refugees returned to their native soil.
  5. That which soils or pollutes; a stain.
  6. A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.
  7. Dung; compost; manure.
    night soil

Noun (etymology 2)

  1. Faeces or urine etc. when found on clothes.
  2. A bag containing soiled items.

Noun (etymology 3)

  1. A wet or marshy place in which a boar or other such game seeks refuge when hunted.

Verb

  1. To make dirty.
  2. To become dirty or soiled.
    Light colours soil sooner than dark ones.
  3. To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully.
  4. To dirty one's clothing by accidentally defecating while clothed.
  5. To make invalid, to ruin.
  6. To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.

Verb (etymology 2)

  1. To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an enclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food.
    to soil a horse


The above text is a snippet from Wiktionary: soil
and as such is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

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