goal

See also: Goal

English

Etymology

From Middle English gol (“boundary, limit”), from Old English *gāl (“obstacle, barrier, marker”), suggested by its derivatives Old English gǣlan (“to hinder, delay, impede, keep in suspense, linger, hesitate, dupe”), and hyġegǣls (“hesitating, slow, sluggish”), hyġegǣlsa (“slow one, sluggish one”). Possibly cognate with Lithuanian gãlas (“end”), Latvian gals (“end”), Old Prussian gallan (“death”), Albanian ngalem (“to be limping, lame, paralyzed”), ngel (“to remain, linger, hesitate, get stuck”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡəʊl/, /ɡɔʊl/, /ɡɒʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡoʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

goal (plural goals)

1. A result that one is attempting to achieve.

   My lifelong goal is to get into a Hollywood movie.

   She failed in her goal to become captain of the team.

   • 2013 November 2, “A shrinking slice”, in The Economist, volume 409, number 8860:

     The goal should be to strengthen workers without hamstringing firms. Growth, rather than employment protection, is the priority. More work means a stronger labour market, which would bid up employees’ slice, as it did in America in the 1990s when unemployment was at record lows.

2. (sports) In many sports, an area into which the players attempt to put an object.
3. The act of placing the object into the goal.
4. A point scored in a game as a result of placing the object into the goal.
   • 2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2-1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport:

     The former Forest man, who passed a late fitness test, appeared to use Guy Moussi for leverage before nodding in David Fox's free-kick at the far post - his 22nd goal of the season.

5. A noun or noun phrase that receives the action of a verb. The subject of a passive verb or the direct object of an active verb. Also called a patient, target, or undergoer.

Synonyms

• (a result one is attempting to achieve:) ambition, object of desire, objective, purpose, aspiration
• See also Thesaurus:goal

Derived terms

Pages starting with "goal".

• goalball
• goal difference
• goalie
• goalkeeper
• goalgetter
• goalpost
• goaltender
• goal umpire
• golden goal
• silver goal
• subgoal

Descendants

Descendants

• → Armenian: գոլ (gol)
• → Basque: gol
• → Belarusian: гол (hol)
• → Bulgarian: гол (gol)
• → Catalan: gol
• → Czech: gól
• → Dutch: goal
• → Esperanto: golo
• → Galician: gol
• → Georgian: გოლი (goli)
• → Greek: γκολ (gkol)
• → Hungarian: gól
• → Ido: golo
• → Indonesian: gol
• → Italian: gol, goal
• → Japanese: ゴール (gōru)
• → Korean: 골 (gol)
• → Kurdish: گۆڵ‎ (goll)
• → Luxembourgish: Gol
• → Maori: kōrā
• → Persian: گل‎ (gol)
• → Polish: gol
• → Portuguese: golo, gol
• → Romanian: gol
• → Russian: гол (gol)
• → Serbo-Croatian: го̑л (gȏl)
• → Slovak: gól
• → Slovene: gól
• → Spanish: gol
• → Telugu: గోలు (gōlu)
• → Turkish: gol
• → Ukrainian: гол (hol)
• → Zazaki: gol

Translations

result one is attempting to achieve

• Arabic: هَدَف‎ (ar) m (hadaf), مَقْصَد‎ m (maqṣad)
• Armenian: նպատակ (hy) (npatak)
• Azerbaijani: məqsəd (az), hədəf (az)
• Bashkir: маҡсат (maqsat)
• Basque: helburu, xede
• Belarusian: мэ́та f (méta), цэль f (celʹ)
• Bengali: লক্ষ্য (bn) m (lôkkhjô)
• Bulgarian: цел (bg) f (cel)
• Burmese: ရည်မှန်းချက် (my) (ranyhman:hkyak)
• Catalan: objectiu (ca) m, meta (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 目標 (zh), 目标 (zh) (mùbiāo), 目的 (zh) (mùdì)

• Crimean Tatar: maqsat
• Czech: cíl (cs) m
• Danish: mål (da)
• Dutch: doel (nl) n, bedoeling (nl), objectief (nl) n, oogmerk (nl) n
• Esperanto: celo (eo)
• Estonian: eesmärk (et)
• Faroese: mál (fo) n
• Finnish: maali (fi), päämäärä (fi), tavoite (fi)
• French: objectif (fr) m, but (fr) m
• Georgian: მიზანი (mizani)
• German: Ziel (de) n

  Alemannic German: Ziil n

• Greek: σκοπός (el) m (skopós), επιδίωξη (el) f (epidíoxi), στόχος (el) m (stóchos)

  Ancient: σκοπός m (skopós)

• Hebrew: מטרה‎ (he) (matara)
• Hindi: लक्ष्य (hi) (lakṣya)
• Hungarian: cél (hu)
• Ido: skopo (io)
• Italian: obiettivo (it) m, scopo (it) m, risultato (it) m, fine (it) m, traguardo (it) m
• Japanese: 目標 (ja) (もくひょう, mokuhyō), 目的 (ja) (もくてき, mokuteki), ゴール (ja) (gōru)
• Kazakh: мақсат (kk) (maqsat)
• Khmer: ទិស (km) (tɨh), គោល (km) (kool)

• Korean: 목표 (ko) (mokpyo) (目標 (ko)), 목적 (ko) (mokjeok)
• Kyrgyz: максат (ky) (maksat), амычуу (amıçuu)
• Lao: ເປົ້າໝາຍ (pao māi)
• Latgalian: snāgs
• Latvian: mērķis m
• Luxembourgish: Zil n, But m
• Macedonian: цел f (cel)
• Maori: hemonga, whāinga (mi)
• Ngazidja Comorian: makswaɗa
• Northern Altai: амыдыг (amïdïg)
• Norwegian: mål (no), målsetting (no) c, formål (no) n, siktemål n
• Persian: هدف‎ (fa) (hadaf), مقصد‎ (fa) (maqsad)
• Polish: cel (pl) m
• Portuguese: meta (pt) f
• Romanian: scop (ro), obiectiv (ro)
• Russian: цель (ru) f (celʹ)
• Sanskrit: उद्देश (sa) m (uddeśa)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ци̑љ m

  Roman: cȋlj (sh) m

• Slovak: cieľ m
• Slovene: cilj (sl) m, namen (sl) m
• Southern Altai: амаду (amadu), максат (maksat)
• Spanish: meta (es)
• Swedish: mål (sv) n
• Tajik: мақсад (tg) (maqsad), ҳадаф (tg) (hadaf)
• Tatar: максат (tt) (maqsat)
• Telugu: లక్ష్యం (te) (lakṣyaṃ)
• Thai: เป้าหมาย (th) (bpâo-mǎai)
• Turkish: amaç (tr), hedef (tr)
• Turkmen: maksat
• Ukrainian: мета́ (uk) f (metá), ціль (uk) f (cilʹ)
• Uzbek: maqsad (uz), hadaf (uz)
• Vietnamese: mục tiêu (vi), mục đích (vi)
• Yiddish: ציל‎ (tsil)

in many sports, an area into which the players attempt to put an object

• Arabic: مَرْمَى‎ m (marmā)

  Egyptian Arabic: جون‎ m (gōn)

• Armenian: դարպաս (hy) (darpas)
• Basque: ate (eu)
• Belarusian: варо́ты pl (varóty)
• Bulgarian: врата (bg) f (vrata)
• Catalan: porteria (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 球門 (zh), 球门 (zh) (qiúmén)

• Czech: brána (cs) f, branka (cs) f
• Danish: mål (da)
• Dutch: doel (nl) n, goal (nl)
• Estonian: värav
• Faroese: mál (fo) n
• Finnish: maali (fi)
• French: but (fr) m
• Georgian: კარი (ḳari)
• German: Tor (de) n
• Greek: τέρμα (el) n (térma)
• Hebrew: שער‎ (he) (sha'ar)
• Hungarian: kapu (hu)
• Ido: golo (io)
• Indonesian: gawang (id)
• Italian: porta (it) f, rete (it) f
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: گۆڵ‎ (ku) (goll)

• Lao: ປະຕູ (lo) (pa tū)
• Latvian: vārti (lv) m pl
• Luxembourgish: Gol m
• Norwegian: mål (no), mål (no) n
• Persian: گل‎ (fa) (gol)
• Polish: bramka (pl) f
• Portuguese: (Brazil) gol (pt) m, (Portugal) baliza (pt) f
• Romanian: poartă (ro) f
• Russian: воро́та (ru) pl (voróta)
• Scottish Gaelic: bàir f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: го̑л m, вра́та f

  Roman: gȏl (sh) m, vráta (sh) f

• Slovak: bránka f
• Slovene: gól (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wrota pl

• Spanish: portería f
• Swahili: bao (sw)
• Swedish: mål (sv) n
• Telugu: గోలు (te) (gōlu)
• Thai: ประตู (th) (bprà-dtuu)
• Turkish: kale (tr)
• Ukrainian: воро́та pl (voróta)
• Vietnamese: cầu môn

(sport) act of placing the object into the goal

• Armenian: գոլ (hy) (gol)
• Basque: gol (eu)
• Belarusian: гол m (hol)
• Bulgarian: гол (bg) m (gol)
• Catalan: gol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 進球 (zh), 进球 (zh) (jìnqiú)

• Czech: gól (cs) m, branka (cs) f
• Danish: mål (da)
• Dutch: doelpunt (nl) n
• Esperanto: golejo
• Faroese: mál (fo)
• Finnish: maali (fi)
• French: but (fr) m
• Georgian: გოლი (goli)
• German: Tor (de) n
• Greek: τέρμα (el) n (térma), καλάθι (el) n (kaláthi), γκολ (el) n (gkol)
• Italian: gol (it) m, rete (it) f, goal (it) m
• Japanese: ゴール (ja) (gōru)
• Korean: 골 (ko) (gol)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: گؤڵ کردن‎ (ku) (gؤlli kirdin)

• Luxembourgish: Gol m
• Norwegian: mål (no), mål (no) n
• Persian: گل کردن‎ (fa) (gol kardan)
• Polish: gol (pl) m
• Portuguese: (Brazil) gol (pt) m, (Portugal) golo (pt) m
• Romanian: gol (ro)
• Russian: гол (ru) m (gol)
• Scottish Gaelic: tadhal m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: го̑л m, по̀годак m, згоди́так m

  Roman: gȏl (sh) m, pògodak (sh) m, zgodítak (sh) m

• Slovak: gól (sk) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wrota pl

• Spanish: gol (es) m
• Swahili: bao (sw)
• Swedish: mål (sv) n
• Telugu: గోలు (te) (gōlu)
• Turkish: gol (tr)
• Ukrainian: гол m (hol)
• Vietnamese: ghi bàn

point(s) scored

• Arabic: هَدَف‎ (ar) m (hadaf)
• Armenian: գոլ (hy) (gol)
• Belarusian: гол m (hol)
• Bulgarian: гол (bg) m (gol)
• Catalan: gol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 進球得分, 进球得分 (jìnqiú défēn)

• Czech: gól (cs) m, branka (cs) f
• Danish: mål (da)
• Dutch: punt (nl) n, doelpunt (nl) n
• Estonian: värav
• Faroese: mál (fo) n
• Finnish: maali (fi)
• French: but (marqué) m
• Georgian: გოლი (goli)
• German: Tor (de) n
• Greek: πόντος (el) m (póntos)
• Hebrew: שער‎ (he) (sha'ar)
• Hungarian: gól (hu)
• Italian: gol (it) m, rete (it) f, goal (it) m
• Japanese: ゴール (ja) (gōru)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: گۆڵ‎ (ku) (goll)

• Maori: kōrā
• Norwegian: mål (no)
• Polish: gol (pl) m
• Portuguese: (Brazil) gol (pt) m, (Portugal) golo (pt) m
• Russian: гол (ru) m (gol)
• Scottish Gaelic: tadhal m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: го̑л m, по̀годак m, згоди́так m

  Roman: gȏl (sh) m, pògodak (sh) m, zgodítak (sh) m

• Slovak: gól (sk) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: wrota pl

• Spanish: gol (es) m
• Swahili: bao (sw)
• Swedish: mål (sv) n
• Thai: แต้ม (th) (dtɛ̂ɛm)
• Turkish: gol (tr)
• Ukrainian: гол m (hol)
• Vietnamese: ghi điểm, ghi bàn, bàn thắng

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Persian: ^{(please verify)} گل زدن‎ (gol zadan)

Verb

goal (third-person singular simple present goals, present participle goaling, simple past and past participle goaled)

1. (Gaelic football, Australian rules) To score a goal.

Anagrams

• Galo, Gola, Lago, Olga, algo, algo-, gaol

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Dutch

Etymology

Borrowing from English goal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡoːl/, [ɡoːl]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: goal

Noun

goal m (plural goals, diminutive goaltje n)

1. goal, target in sports, especially soccer
2. a hit in it, a point scored

Synonyms

• (target): doel n
• (hit): doelpunt n

Derived terms

• goalpaal

---

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English goal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡol/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

goal m (plural goals)

1. goalkeeper especially in soccer and polo
2. (rare) target in those sports

Synonyms

• (goalkeeper): gardien de but, gardien m, portier m
• (target): but m

Further reading

• “goal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• algo

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Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from English goal.

Noun

goal m (inv)

1. Alternative spelling of gol

Anagrams

• gola, lago

---

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish Gall (“Gaul, Scandinavian, Anglo-Norman, foreigner”).

Noun

goal m (genitive singular goal, plural goallyn or goaldee)

1. Scottish lowlander
2. foreigner

Related terms

• Goal

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
goal	ghoal	ngoal
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.