# soot

> English word · Noun · IPA /suːt/ · frequency rank #28,377

## Definitions
1. Fine black or dull brown particles of amorphous carbon and tar, produced by the incomplete combustion of coal, oil etc.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English soot, soote, sote, sot, from Old English sōt, from Proto-Germanic *sōtą (“soot”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”). Cognate with dated Dutch zoet (“soot”), German Low German Soot (“soot”), Danish sod (“soot”), Swedish sot (“soot”), Icelandic sót (“soot”). Compare similar ō-grade formation the same Proto-Indo-European root in Old Irish suide (“soot”) and Balto-Slavic: Lithuanian súodžiai (“soot”), and Proto-Slavic *saďa (“soot”) (Russian са́жа (sáža), Polish and Slovak sadza, Bulgarian са́жда (sážda)).

## Easily confused with
- **sox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sox)
- **soy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-soy)
- **sow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sow)
- **SOS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sos)
- **sop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sop)
- **sou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sou)
- **sor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sor)
- **sot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sot)
- **SST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sst)
- **sov** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sov)
- **stop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-stop)
- **sort** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sort)
- **spot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-spot)
- **soul** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-soul)
- **suit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-suit)
- **soup** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-soup)
- **sore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sore)
- **stat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-stat)
- **sour** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-sour)
- **spit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/soot-vs-spit)

## Common misspellings (3)
`osot`, `soott`, `ssoot`

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