Coal Definition
coal
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English
Wikipedia has an article on: Coal A nugget of anthracite coal.Etymology
Middle English cole, from Old English col, from Proto-Germanic *kulan, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷol- (compare Irish gúal ‘coal’, Tocharian B śoliye ‘hearth’, Persian زغال (zuvāl) ‘live coal’), from *gʷelH- ‘to glow, burn’ (compare Lithuanian žvìlti ‘to twinkle, glow’, Sanskrit jválati ‘it burns’).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /kəʊl/, X-SAMPA: /k@Ul/
- Rhymes: -əʊl
- (GenAm) IPA: /koʊl/, X-SAMPA: /koUl/
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Audio (US) (file) - Homophones: cole, kohl
Noun
- (uncountable) A black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
- (countable) A piece of coal used for burning. Note that in British English the first of the following examples would usually be used, whereas in American English the latter would.
- Put some coals on the fire.
- Put some coal on the fire.
- (countable) A type of coal, such as bituminous, anthracite, or lignite, and grades and varieties thereof.
- (countable) A smouldering piece of material.
- Just as the camp-fire died down to just coals, with no flames to burn the marshmallows, someone dumped a whole load of wood on, so I gave up and went to bed.
Hyponyms
- anthracite, bitumin
Derived terms
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Related terms
Verb
coal (third-person singular simple present coals, present participle coaling, simple past and past participle coaled)
- To take in coal; as, the steamer coaled at Southampton.
- To be converted to charcoal.
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- 1957: As a result, particles of wood and twigs insufficiently coaled are frequently found at the bottom of such pits. — H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry, p. 18.
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Anagrams
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