haul English · revision 15210

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /hɔːl/ ''(UK)''; /hɔl/, /hɑl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|haulen]], a variant spelling of [[m|enm|halen|t=to drag, pull]] (see [[hale]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) [[bor|fro|haler]], of Germanic origin, akin to [[dum|halen|t=to pull]].^(MWU 2024) The au spelling reflects a Middle English change of pronunciation that parted from halen before the 1500s, as in [[crawl]] and [[small]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To pull or drag, to transport: about 1300 (haulen) in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first quotation is from 1581, and Etymonline has hall in the 1580s, with the ''au'' or ''aw'' spelling from the early 17th century.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) The New Oxford's first sense is nautical, to trim the sails to sail nearer the wind, from the mid-16th century (1557 in the OED).^(NODE 1998)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Transporting by cart or other vehicle is from 1741,^(OED 1989) and to call to account, ''haul over the coals'', from 1795.^(OED 1989) The noun, an act of hauling, is from 1670 (the 1660s),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and a quantity gathered or gained, as of fish in one draw of a net, from 1776, in John Adams's letters.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The distance over which something is carried, with long or short, is from 1873 in railway use.^(Etymonline) ''To haul off'', pull back before striking, is American English from 1802.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – haulen.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1557 – to trim the sails.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1670 – a haul (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1741 – to transport.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1776 – something gained.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1873 – a long haul.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pull or drag with effort; to [[tug]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To transport, as by lorry or cart.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To force to go somewhere, especially to court: ''hauled before a judge''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(nautical)'' To change the course of a ship, especially to sail closer to the wind.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An amount gathered or stolen in one effort; a [[catch]] or take.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A distance travelled or carried: ''a long haul''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The act of pulling or transporting.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hauler]]

+ * [[backhaul]]

+ * [[downhaul]]

+ * [[inhaul]]

+ * [[outhaul]]

+ * [[overhaul]]

+ * [[rehaul]]

+ * [[unhauled]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hale]]

+ * [[haulage]]

+ * [[haulier]]

+ * [[halyard]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In north Yorkshire a haul was a small inlet where boats from the beach were drawn up for safety.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}