shawl
/ʃoːl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A square or rectangular piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders, typically by women.
Example Sentences
- "She wears her shawl when it's cold outside."
- "Just then Norbourne entered the chamber; and, fancying from her attitude that his wife was asleep, he approached softly, and drew a large shawl around her."
- "Then came a maid with hand-bag and shawls, and after her a tall young lady. She stood for a moment holding her skirt above the grimy steps,[…], and the light of the reflector fell full upon her."
- ""In the coach in which I rode, there was a vacant seat till our arrival in Birmingham. Leaving Birmingham I found it filled with a fat Englishman, in drab breeches and gaiter boots, the finest specimen of a thorough John Bull that I had seen—weight about sixteen stone. He wore two top coats, a broad brimmed hat, and an enormous red travelling shawl, behind the folds of which his portly double chin was entirely hidden."
- "Jessamy turned. Her uplifted candle showed a dark handsome young women in a black dress. She wore a wide shawl over her head which hung down on either side, only partially hiding a starched, white apron.."
- "Rebecca was shawling her in an upper apartment , where these two friends had an opportunity for a little of that secret talking and conspiring which forms the delight of female life"
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi शाल (śāl) / Urdu شال (śāl)), from Classical Persian شال (šāl). Doublet of sari through Sanskrit.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: शाल, شال
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ʃoːl/
- British English: /ʃɔːl/