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Shoal vs Reef - What's the difference?

shoal | reef |

As adjectives the difference between shoal and reef

is that shoal is shallow while reef is scabby; scurvy.

As nouns the difference between shoal and reef

is that shoal is a sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow while reef is the itch; any eruptive skin disorder.

As verbs the difference between shoal and reef

is that shoal is to arrive at a shallow (or less deep) area while reef is to take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.

shoal

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) schold, scholde, from (etyl) . Compare (shallow).

Alternative forms

* (l) (dialectal) * (l), (l), (l), (l), (l), (l) (Scotland) * (l), (l), (l)

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Shallow.
    • shoal water
  • * 1819 , Lord Byron, Don Juan , III.19:
    • But that part of the coast being shoal and bare, / And rough with reefs which ran out many a mile, / His port lay on the other side o' the isle.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sandbank or sandbar creating a shallow.
  • *
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}
  • * Dryden
    • The god himself with ready trident stands, / And opes the deep, and spreads the moving sands, / Then heaves them off the shoals .
  • A shallow in a body of water.
  • * Mortimer
    • The depth of your pond should be six feet; and on the sides some shoals for the fish to lay their spawn.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, / And sounded all the depths and shoals of honour.
    Synonyms
    * (sandbank) sandbar, sandbank

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To arrive at a shallow (or less deep) area.
  • To cause a shallowing; to come to a more shallow part of.
    • A ship shoals her water by advancing into that which is less deep. — Marryat.
  • To become shallow.
    • The colour of the water shows where it shoals .

    Etymology 2

    1570, presumably from (etyl) *.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any large number of persons or things.
  • * Francis Bacon
    • great shoals of people
  • A large number of fish (or other sea creatures) of the same species swimming together.
  • * Waller
    • Beneath, a shoal of silver fishes glides.
    Synonyms
    * (fish) school

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To collect in a shoal; to throng.
    • The fish shoaled about the place.

    Anagrams

    * * * English collective nouns

    reef

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) ref, hreof, from (etyl) . Compare (l), (l).

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l) (Scotland)

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Scabby; scurvy.

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • The itch; any eruptive skin disorder.
  • Dandruff.

    • Etymology 2

    From earlier riff, from (etyl) rif, from (etyl) . More at (l).

    Alternative forms

    * (l) (obsolete)

    Noun

    (wikipedia reef) (en noun)
  • A chain or range of rocks, sand, or coral lying at or near the surface of the water.
  • (Australia, South Africa) A large vein of auriferous quartz; hence, any body of rock yielding valuable ore.
  • (nautical) A portion of a sail rolled and tied down to lessen the area exposed in a high wind.
  • A reef knot.
    • Derived terms
    * coral reef * close reef * reef band * reef knot * reef line * reef points * reef rash * reef tackle * take a reef in

    Verb

  • (nautical) To take in part of a sail in order to adapt the size of the sail to the force of the wind.
  • * 1970' July–December, Margaret Quilty, ''Roller '''Reefing Made Easy'', '' , page 63,
    • Be sure the blocks are securely mounted—they carry a fairish load when the sail is reefed .
    If both reefing line and main halyard are led to the cockpit, even singlehanded reefing is a breeze.
  • * 1995 , David Seidman, The Complete Sailor: Learning the Art of Sailing , page 104,
    • Mains are made smaller by reefing . This can be done by rolling up the sail around the boom, or by the more traditional method of tying down a panel along the foot.
  • * 2004 , Charlie Wing, How Boat Things Work , page 108,
    • The reefing system for a mainsail must be designed to operate efficiently under adverse conditions and to provide proper sail shape when reefed .
  • (Australian) To pull or yank strongly.
  • * 1986 , Jan Wositzky, Me and Phar Lap: The Remarkable Life of Tommy Woodcock , 2011, page 49,
    • And when the Cup came on he stirred them up ?round the barrier and he flew out of the barrier and he pulled and reefed' and pulled and ' reefed and Lewis didn?t let him settle down until about three furlongs from home and when he did settle the horse was all out of stride and he went back through the field a fair bit.
  • * 1994 , Herb Wharton, Cattle Camp: Murrie Drovers and Their Stories , 2010, page 73,
    • Alf told me that one young white stockman, eager to impress the girls, went outside and mounted his horse, then began showing off his prowess, racing past the pub, wheeling and reefing his horse up and down the street, yackeyeing and whooping, flogging his horse with a battered old hat and always turning towards the pub to see if the girls were watching these feats of horsemanship.
  • * 2007 , Marion Houldsworth, Maybe It?ll Rain Tomorrow , 2012, page 104,
    • head stockman would say ‘Cut one out but take him at a walk.? And if you could get that beast out without reefing your horse around, the head stockman – he?d be a pretty cluey old coot - he?s watching that horse?s ears more than what you were doing.
  • (nautical, of paddles) To move the floats of a paddle wheel toward its center so that they will not dip so deeply.
    • Reef the paddles.

    Anagrams

    * fere * free