Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

coal

/koʊl/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.49 in modern English

Syllables
coal
IPA
/koʊl/
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

Uncountable

noun

A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

Countable

noun

A piece of coal used for burning (this use is less common in American English)

Countable

noun

A glowing or charred piece of coal, wood, or other solid fuel.

Countable

noun

Charcoal.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Content of low quality.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Bombs emitting black smoke on impact.

Countable; Slang; Uncountable

noun

Money.

Countable; Obsolete; Slang; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *ǵwl̥Hom Proto-Indo-European *ǵulHom Proto-Germanic *kulą Proto-West Germanic *kol Old English col Middle English col English coal From Middle English col, from Old English col, from Proto-West Germanic *kol, from Proto-Germanic *kulą (“coal”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵwelH- (“to burn, shine”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian kööl (“coal”), Saterland Frisian Koole (“coal”), West Frisian koal (“coal”), Cimbrian kholl (“coal”), Dutch kool (“coal; carbon”), German Kohle (“coal”), Limburgish Kǫe̩l (“coal”), Luxembourgish Kuel (“coal”), Vilamovian köła (“coal”), Yiddish קויל (koyl, “coal”), Danish kul (“coal”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish kol (“coal; carbon”), Jamtish kuł (“coal; carbon”), Norwegian Bokmål kol, kull (“coal”). Compare Irish and Scottish Gaelic gual (“coal”), Manx geayl (“coal”), Lithuanian žvi̇̀lti (“to glow, twinkle”), Persian زکال (zakâl), زکار (zekâr), زغال (zoġâl, “coal”), Tocharian B śoliye (“hearth”), Sanskrit ज्वल् (jval, “to burn, glow”), all from the same root.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /koʊl/
  • British English: /kəʊl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

coals (plural) cole (alternative, obsolete) coale (alternative, obsolete) colle (alternative, obsolete) coole (alternative, obsolete) coell (alternative, obsolete) coile (alternative, obsolete) coals (present, singular) coaling (participle, present) coaled (participle, past) coaled (past) coalest (rare, superlative)

Derived Forms

anticoal coalbag coalbin coalblack coalbox coalboy coalcutter coaldust coaler coalery coalette coalface

Phrases

at the coal face barley coal beehive coal bituminous coal black as coal black coal blind coal block coal

Frequently Paired Words

charcoal collier colliery ember stockpile cinder ash clinker

Synonyms

ember char

Homonyms

cole kohl

Antonyms

gem

Rhymes With

whole control role goal self-control soul roll hole bowl rock-and-roll poll sole

Questions

How do you pronounce coal?
The recorded pronunciation is /koʊl/.
What does coal mean?
A black or brownish black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.
Where does coal come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce coal

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “coal”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/koʊl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “coal”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “coal” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.