sowl

Meanings

Noun

• A dainty; a relish; a sauce; anything eaten with bread.

Verb

• To pull (especially an animal) by the ears; to drag about.
• To soil or stain; to dirty.

Origin

• From Middle English souel, souvel, suvel, from Old English sufel, sufol, from Proto-Germanic *suflą ("entremets, viands"), from Proto-Indo-European *seu-, *sew-. The word is cognate with Danish sul ("sowl"), Middle Dutch suvel, zuvel (modern Dutch zuivel ("dairy products")), Middle Low German suvel, süvel, suffel, Old High German sufil, sufili, Old Norse sufl, Norwegian suvl, sovl, sul, Saterland Frisian süfel ("dairy products"), Swedish sofvel, sovel, West Frisian suvel ("dairy products").
• From Middle English soul, soule, sowel, sawel. See further at soul.
• Origin unknown; compare German zaulen, zauseln, zausen. See also tousle.
• From Middle English sōlen ("to become dirty or soiled; to make dirty, soil; to be defiled, polluted"), from Old English solian ("to make or become foul, sully"), from Proto-Germanic *sulwōną, *sulwijaną; compare sullow and sully, and Danish søle ("to make dirty, defile"), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 ("to bemire"), Middle Dutch soluwen, seulewen, Old French soillier, souillier, soller (modern French souiller), Old High German solagōn, bisullen, German suhlen ("to make dirty, soil"), Old Saxon sulian ("to mire, soil"), West Flemish sowelen, suwelen.