# shoal

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ʃəʊl/ · frequency rank #31,762

## Definitions
1. Shallow.

## Etymology
From Middle English schold, scholde, from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *skalidaz, past participle of *skaljaną (“to go dry, dry up, become shallow”), from *skalaz (“parched, shallow”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to dry out”). Cognate with Low German Scholl (“shallow water”), German schal (“stale, flat, vapid”). Compare shallow.

## Easily confused with
- **sol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-sol)
- **SoA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soa)
- **show** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-show)
- **shot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shot)
- **shop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shop)
- **soul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soul)
- **soil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soil)
- **shoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shoe)
- **soap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soap)
- **soak** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soak)
- **soar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-soar)
- **shoo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shoo)
- **short** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-short)
- **shows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shows)
- **shown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shown)
- **shoot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shoot)
- **shoes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shoes)
- **shots** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shots)
- **shock** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-shock)
- **steal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shoal-vs-steal)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hsoal`, `shaol`, `shhoal`, `shoall`, `shola`, `sohal`, `sshoal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shoal