Cornish dial. Also 7–9 soil, 7–8 soyle, 9 soyl. [? An irregular local variation of SEAL sb.1] The common seal.

1

1602.  Carew, Cornwall, I. 34 b. The Seale, or Soyle, is in making and growth, not vnlike a Pigge, vgly faced, and footed like a Moldwarp.

2

1672.  Josselyn, New Eng. Rarities, 34. The Soile or Sea Calf, a Creature that brings forth her young ones upon dry land.

3

1674.  Ray, Coll. Words, Fishes, 107. On the Rocks near the Lands end they often find the Phocæ (which they call Soils) sleeping. Ibid. They distinguish between Soils and Sieles: the Siele they affirm to be a Fish … much less then the soile, and not taken upon our Coasts.

4

1758.  Borlase, Nat. Hist. Cornw., 284. Among the quadruped reptiles we may reckon the seal or sea-calf, vulgarly called in Cornwall the Soyle.

5

a. 1863.  Tregellas, Cornish Tales (1868), 61. Haling the soils up from the say.

6

1880.  W. Cornwall Gloss., 53/1.

7


  Soile, obs. Sc. form of SOLE sb.1

8