coll

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /kɑl/ UK /kɒl/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like car /l/ vs /r/ Sounds like cole /ɑ/ vs /oʊ/

Meanings

1

verb
to embrace about the neck; an embrace (chiefly dialectal or archaic)

She would coll the child gently before bed.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to embrace about the neck;... embrace hug clasp cuddle

Word family

Related forms collar accolade

Etymology

From Old French coler 'to embrace about the neck', from col 'neck', from Latin collum 'neck'.

col Old English collum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Register & Style

External links

# coll

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /kɑl/
**IPA (UK):** /kɒl/

## Meanings
1. to embrace about the neck; an embrace (chiefly dialectal or archaic)

## Examples
- She would coll the child gently before bed.

## Synonyms
- embrace
- hug
- clasp
- cuddle

## Related Forms
- collar
- accolade

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: col
- Root: collum

## Etymology
From Old French coler 'to embrace about the neck', from col 'neck', from Latin collum 'neck'.

## AI Etymology
Coll comes from Old French coler 'to embrace about the neck', from col 'neck', from Latin collum 'neck'. The historical trail runs through col in Old French and collum in Latin. Used as a verb and noun, coll now means "embrace about the neck; an embrace (chiefly dialectal or archaic)", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in related forms such as collar and accolade. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Register & Style

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