soil

Everyday

1. The top layer of the ground in which plants grow, made of tiny bits of rock, dead plants and animals, water and air. tree →
2. Land or country: «on British soil». tree →
3. Verb: to make something dirty (formal). tree →

In the lessons

In science: soil forms slowly from broken rock and rotting plants; worms and tiny living things make it rich; kinds: sandy, clay, loamy; plants take water and minerals from soil through roots; compost makes soil better. In safety: wash hands after gardening — soil can have germs. Phrases: rich soil, sandy soil, clay soil, soil and water, topsoil, garden soil, soil erosion.

Examples

• Plants grow in soil. tree →
• Earthworms make the soil healthy. tree →
• Sandy soil lets water drain quickly. tree →
• Clay soil is sticky when it's wet. tree →
• Wash your hands after touching soil. tree →
• We put compost in the soil to help the vegetables. tree →
• Tree roots hold the soil in place. tree →
• The soil was dry because it hadn't rained. tree →
• He looked, and saw peasants tilling the soil. tree →

Note

Mostly uncountable: «some soil». Similar words: dirt (US, everyday), earth, ground. Soil is not just dirt: it is full of life. Soil takes hundreds of years to form, so protecting it matters.

In Jewish tradition

It is the good ground where plants grow, and it stands for the land God gave to Israel.

Interpretation. Ezekiel's vine pictures Israel planted in a good land by God. Tradition reads it as a warning that blessing demands loyalty.

Examples

• I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a leafy tree in its native soil. (Writings PSA.37.35, JPS 1917) tree →
• He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful soil; he placed it beside many waters, he set it as a slip. (Prophets EZK.17.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• It was planted in a good soil by many waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a stately vine. (Prophets EZK.17.8, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Mostly uncountable: «some soil». Similar words: dirt (US, everyday), earth, ground. Soil is not just dirt: it is full of life. Soil takes hundreds of years to form, so protecting it matters.