English Explanatory Dictionary

seal

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal.
verb
  1. To hunt seals.
noun
  1. A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax.
  2. An impression of such stamp on wax, paper or other material used for sealing.
  3. A facsimile of an impression of such stamp that is a mark or symbol of an office or organisation.
  4. Anything that secures or authenticates.
  5. Something which will be visibly damaged if a covering or container is opened, and which may or may not bear an official design.
  6. Confirmation or approval, or an indication of this.
  7. Something designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking through a joint.
  8. A tight closure, secure against leakage.
  9. A chakra.
verb
  1. To place a seal on (a document).
  2. To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality.
  3. To fasten (something) so that it cannot be opened without visible damage.
  4. To prevent people or vehicles from crossing (something).
  5. To close securely to prevent leakage.
  6. To place in a sealed container.
  7. To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment.
  8. To guarantee.
  9. To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement or plaster, etc.
  10. To close by means of a seal.
  11. To bind eternally as family members.
  12. To form a sacred commitment.
verb
  1. To tie up animals (especially cattle) in their stalls.
noun
  1. Ellipsis of Navy SEAL (“member of the Sea, Air, Land unit”).
name
  1. A surname.
  2. A village in Sevenoaks district, Kent, England.

Pronunciation

sēl /siːl/ en-us-seal.ogg

Word forms

seal seals sealing sealed

Etymology

From Middle English sel, from an inflectional form of Old English seolh, from Proto-West Germanic *selh, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (compare Scots selch,selkie, North Frisian selich, Middle Dutch seel, zēle, Old High German selah, Danish sæl, Middle Low German sale, Icelandic selur), either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare dialectal Finnish hylki, standard hylje, Estonian hüljes).

Synonyms

sea puppy pinniped block block off close close off obstruct seal off enclose

Related words

vent clapmatch dolphin sea lion selkie walrus aseal asseal enseal stamp

Derived words

seallike seal point acme seal Arctic seal Atlantic gray seal Atlantic grey seal Baikal seal bay seal bearded seal bottle-nosed seal Caspian seal common seal crab-eater seal crabeater seal crab-eating seal crawling seal crested seal eared seal earless seal elephant seal fur seal fur-seal gray seal grey seal Greenland seal hair seal hair-seal harbor seal harbour seal harp seal harp-seal Hawaiian monk seal heart seal hooded seal Hudson bay seal Hudson seal jar seal kid seal Ladoga seal land seal Larga seal leonine seal leopard seal leporine seal maned seal marbled seal monk seal monk-seal native seal pied seal pin seal ribbon seal ringed seal river seal rock seal Ross seal rough seal saddleback seal seal-bird seal bomb

Translations

Armenian: կնիք Belarusian: кляймо́ Bulgarian: клеймо́ Finnish: leima Finnish: sinetti Galician: cuño Galician: cruño Ancient Greek: σφραγίς Icelandic: innsigli Occitan: sagèl Russian: печа́ть Russian: клеймо́ Spanish: signáculo Ottoman Turkish: مهر Ottoman Turkish: خاتم Ukrainian: клеймо́ Uyghur: پېچەت
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