soil
part of speech
noun (soil — uncountable; soils — kinds of soil); verb (soil, soils, soiled — to make dirty)
meaning for a pupil
1) The top layer of the ground in which plants grow, made of tiny bits of rock, dead plants and animals, water and air. tree →
2) Land or country: «on British soil». tree →
3) Verb: to make something dirty (formal). tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: It is the good ground where plants grow, and it stands for the land God gave to Israel. Interpretation: Ezekiel's vine pictures Israel planted in a good land by God. Tradition reads it as a warning that blessing demands loyalty. In the primary lessons: In science: soil forms slowly from broken rock and rotting plants; worms and tiny living things make it rich; kinds: sandy, clay, loamy; plants take water and minerals from soil through roots; compost makes soil better. In safety: wash hands after gardening — soil can have germs. Phrases: rich soil, sandy soil, clay soil, soil and water, topsoil, garden soil, soil erosion.
examples
- I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a leafy tree in its native soil. (Writings PSA.37.35, JPS 1917) tree →
- He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters, he set it as a slip. (Prophets EZK.17.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine. (Prophets EZK.17.8, JPS 1917) tree →
- Plants grow in soil. tree →
- Earthworms make the soil healthy. tree →
- Sandy soil lets water drain quickly. tree →
- Clay soil is sticky when it's wet. tree →
- Wash your hands after touching soil. tree →
- We put compost in the soil to help the vegetables. tree →
- Tree roots hold the soil in place. tree →
- The soil was dry because it hadn't rained. tree →
- He looked, and saw peasants tilling the soil. tree →
note
Mostly uncountable: «some soil». Similar words: dirt (US, everyday), earth, ground. Soil is not just dirt: it is full of life. Soil takes hundreds of years to form, so protecting it matters.
In the corpora
- I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a leafy tree in its native soil.
- Soil gives plants water, grip for their roots and minerals such as nitrogen; without minerals plants grow small and yellow.
- Hard deer hooves grip soil and snow but slip on smooth ice, so real deer avoid frozen ponds where they can.
- Buttress roots spread out like walls around many rainforest trees and hold the tall tree up in thin soil.
- Mangrove roots break waves and hold the soil, and after the 2004 tsunami, places with mangroves often had less damage.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «soil» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.