coal English · revision 4794

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 825|origins=ine-pro *g(e)u-lo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /kəʊl/, US /koʊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|cole]], [[inh|ang|col|t=charcoal, live coal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*kulą|alt=*kula(n)]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Dutch kool, German Kohle and Old Norse kol.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline and Barnhart derive it from [[ine-pro|*g(e)u-lo-|t=live coal]], the source of Irish gual,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) while Hoad calls its origin uncertain.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A piece of carbon glowing without flame, and a piece of burnt wood that can burn again: about 825 in the OED,^(OED 1989) in the Vespasian Psalter.^(Barnhart 1988) Old English col meant a glowing ember, not the mineral.^(Cresswell 2021)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Charcoal is from about 1205.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The black mineral burned as fuel, at first called sea-coal, is from the mid-13th century.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) ''To carry coals'', to do dirty work or put up with insults, is from the 1520s,^(Etymonline) and ''to carry coals to Newcastle'', to do something pointless, from about 1600,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) since Newcastle was in the midst of a great coal-producing region.^(Etymonline) ''Haul over the coals'' alludes to a real torture, the treatment of heretics.^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) The verb, to char, is from 1602,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) and to supply a ship or engine with coal from 1864.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 825 – a glowing ember.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1205 – charcoal.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-13th century – the mineral fuel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – ''carry coals''.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – ''coals to Newcastle''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1602 – verb, to char.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1864 – verb, to supply with coal.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hard black or dark brown [[mineral]] formed from ancient plants and burned as [[fuel]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A piece of this.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A glowing or burnt piece of wood or other fuel; an [[ember]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To supply with coal, or to take in coal.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coalless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[charcoal]]

+ * [[collier]]

+ * [[colliery]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Coal was given as a New Year's gift in England for luck, said to ensure a warm hearth for the year.^(Etymonline)^(Simpson & Roud 2000)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}