sowl

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English sovel, suvel, saulee, from Old English sufl, sufel, sufol (“anything eaten with bread, sowl, relish eaten with bread”), from Proto-Germanic *suflan (“entremets, viands”), from Proto-Indo-European *seu-, *sew- (“juice, moisture, rain”). Cognate with Eastern Frisian süfel (“dairy products”), Dutch zuivel (“dairy products”), Middle Low German suvel, süvel, suffel (“sowl”), Danish sul (“sowl”), Swedish sovel (“sowl”).

Alternative forms

• sowle, sowli, seawl, sewl, sool, soul, soule

Noun

sowl (plural sowls)

1. (UK dialectal) A relish; sauce; dainty; anything eaten with bread.
2. (UK dialectal) Tasty, seasoned food.
3. (UK dialectal) Pottage; moist, liquid food.
4. (UK dialectal) Any liquid that is drunk.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sowle, sawle (“soul”). More at soul.

Noun

sowl (plural sowls)

1. Archaic spelling of soul.

Etymology 3

Compare German zaulen, zauseln, zausen (“to tug, drag”).

Verb

sowl (third-person singular simple present sowls, present participle sowling, simple past and past participle sowled)

1. To pull by the ears; to drag about.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

Anagrams

• lows
• owls
• slow