goal
[ gohl ]
/ goʊl /
noun
the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.
the terminal point in a race.
a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.
an area, basket, cage, or other object or structure toward or into which players of various games attempt to throw, carry, kick, hit, or drive a ball, puck, etc., to score a point or points.
the act of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object.
the score made by this act.
Origin of goal
1275–1325; Middle English
gol boundary, limit; compare Old English
gǣlan to hinder, impede
historical usage of goal
Goal has no reliable etymology. It appears for the first and only time in Middle English as
gol “boundary, limit” in the mid-14th century. Some authorities suggest that
gol was a borrowing from Middle French
gaule, waulle “pole, stick,” from an unattested Germanic cognate of Old Frisian
waal, walu “rod,” which is of no real help. The second recorded occurrence of
goal, then spelled
gole, is in the first half of the 16th century, with the meaning “finishing point of a race, finish line.” The extended sense “aim or purpose, outcome of effort or ambition” also dates from the first half of the 16th century. By the late 16th century,
goal, at this point spelled
goale, had also acquired the meaning, now obsolete, “starting point of a race,” a translation of one of the many meanings of Latin
fīnis (which also meant “boundary, limit” and “finishing point of a race, finish line”).
OTHER WORDS FROM goal
goal·less, adjective sub·goal, nounWords nearby goal
goa,
goa powder,
goa, daman, and diu,
goad,
goaf,
goal,
goal area,
goal crease,
goal kick,
goal line,
goal-oriented
Example sentences from the Web for goal
British Dictionary definitions for goal
goal
/ (ɡəʊl) /
noun
the aim or object towards which an endeavour is directed
the terminal point of a journey or race
(in various sports) the net, basket, etc into or over which players try to propel the ball, puck, etc, to score
sport
- a successful attempt at scoring
- the score so made
(in soccer, hockey, etc) the position of goalkeeper
Derived forms of goal
goalless, adjectiveWord Origin for goal
C16: perhaps related to Middle English
gol boundary, Old English
gǣlan to hinder, impede