coal

Definition

A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

Etymology

From Middle English cole, from Old English col, from Proto-West Germanic *kol, from Proto-Germanic *kulą, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- (“to burn, shine”). Cognate with West Frisian koal (“coal”), Cimbrian kholl (“coal”), Dutch kool (“coal; carbon”), German Kohle (“coal”), Luxembourgish Kuel (“coal”), Vilamovian köła (“coal”), Yiddish קויל (koyl, “coal”), Danish kul (“coal”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish kol (“coal; carbon”), Jamtish kuł (“coal; carbon”). Compare Middle Irish gúal (“coal”), Lithuanian žvi̇̀lti (“to twinkle, glow”), Persian زغال (zoġâl, “live coal”), Sanskrit ज्वल् (jval, “to burn, glow”), Tocharian B śoliye (“hearth”), all from the same root.

Example Sentences

• "The coal in this region was prized by ironmasters in centuries past, who mined it in the spots where the drainage methods of the day permitted."
• "Coal-eaters they may have been, but a more willing or harder working Atlantic engine was never designed."
• "Put some coal on the fire."

Related Words