sole¹ (sōl)
n.

1. The underside of the foot.
2. The underside of a shoe or boot, often excluding the heel.
3. The part on which something else rests while in a vertical position, especially:
   1. The bottom surface of a plow.
   2. The bottom surface of the head of a golf club.

tr.v., soled, sol·ing, soles.

1. To furnish (a shoe or boot) with a sole.
2. To put the sole of (a golf club) on the ground, as in preparing to make a stroke.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin solea, sandal, from solum, bottom, sole of the foot.]

sole² (sōl)
adj.

1. Being the only one: the sole survivor of the crash.
2. Of or relating to only one individual or group; exclusive: The court has the sole right to decide.
3. Law. Single; unmarried.

[Middle English, alone, from Old French sol, from Latin sōlus.]

sole³ (sōl)
n., pl., sole, or soles.

1. Any of various chiefly marine flatfish of the family Soleidae, related to and resembling the flounders, especially any of several European species, such as Solea solea, valued as food fishes.
2. Any of various other flatfish, especially certain coastal flounders.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin solea, sandal, flatfish (from its shape). See sole¹.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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