Standard Lemma guide

foal

noun · verb · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /fəʊl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: [fɔʊɫ]
  • /fɒl/ doll–dole merger
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /fɐʉl/
  • General-American: /foʊl/
  • General-American: [foɫ]
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊl
  • CMU ARPABET: F OW1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A young horse or other equine, especially just after birth or less than a year old.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A young boy who assisted the headsman by pushing or pulling the tub.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

Topics: business, mining

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To give birth to (a foal); to bear offspring.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

a young horse

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: young mammal

Narrower terms: filly, colt

5

verb

Meaning 5

give birth to a foal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the mare foaled

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: give birth, deliver, bear, birth, have

History

Etymology

From Middle English ffoole, foale, fole, fool, foole, fowle, from Old English fola, from Proto-West Germanic *folō, from Proto-Germanic *fulô (“foal”), from pre-Germanic *pl̥Hon-, from Proto-Indo-European *pōlH- (“animal young”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foole (“foal”), West Frisian fôle (“foal”), Dutch veulen (“foal”), German Fohlen, Füllen (“foal”), Low German Fohl (“foal”), Vilamovian fyłn (“foal”), Danish føl (“foal”), Faroese fyl (“foal”), Icelandic foli, fyl (“foal”), Norwegian Bokmål fole, føll (“foal”), Norwegian Nynorsk fole, fyl, føl (“foal”), Swedish fåle, föl (“foal”); compare also Latin pullus (“young animal”), Greek πουλάρι (poulári, “foal”), Albanian pelë (“mare”), Armenian ուլ (ul, “kid, young of a goat”). Related to filly.

Across languages

Translations

156 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Akan: pɔnkɔ ba — young horse
  • Albanian: mëz — young horse
  • Arabic: مُهْر (muhr) — young horse
  • Arabic: فِلْو (filw) — young horse
  • Arabic: مهر (muhr) — young horse
  • Armenian: մտրուկ (mtruk) — young horse
  • Armenian: քուռակ (kʻuṙak) — young horse
  • Aromanian: mãndzu — young horse
  • Asturian: potru — young horse
  • Avar: тайи (taji) — young horse
  • Azerbaijani: qulun — young horse
  • Bashkir: ҡолон (qolon) — young horse
  • Bashkir: ҡолонсаҡ (qolonsaq) — young horse
  • Bashkir: ҡолоҡай (qoloqay) — young horse
  • Belarusian: жарабя́ (žarabjá) — young horse
  • Belarusian: жарабё (žarabjó) — young horse
  • Breton: ebeul — young horse
  • Bulgarian: конче́ (končé) — young horse
  • Bulgarian: жребче́ (žrebčé) — young horse
  • Burmese: မြင်းကလေး (mrang:ka.le:) — young horse
  • Buryat: унаган (unagan) — young horse
  • Catalan: pollí — young horse
  • Catalan: poltre — young horse
  • Catalan: f — young horse
  • Chechen: бекъа (beqʼa) — young horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 駒子 /驹子 (jūzi) — young horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 駒 /驹 (jū) — young horse
  • Chinese Mandarin: 䮔 (zuī) — young horse
  • Chuvash: тиха (tih̬a) — young horse
  • Crimean Tatar: bala — young horse
  • Crimean Tatar: at bala — young horse
  • Czech: hříbě — young horse
  • Danish: føl — young horse
  • Dutch: veulen — young horse
  • Dutch: kachtel — young horse
  • Erzya: парнэ (parnë) — young horse
  • Erzya: вашо (vašo) — young horse
  • Esperanto: ĉevalido — young horse
  • Estonian: varss — young horse
  • Faroese: fyl — young horse
  • Faroese: foli — young horse
  • Finnish: varsa — young horse
  • French: poulain — young horse
  • French: pouliche — young horse
  • West-Frisian: fôle — young horse
  • Galician: poldro — young horse
  • Georgian: კვიცი (ḳvici) — young horse
  • German: Fohlen — young horse
  • German: Füllen — young horse
  • German: Jungpferd — young horse
  • German: Füli — young horse
  • Greek: πουλάρι (poulári) — young horse
  • Ancient Greek: πῶλος (pôlos) — young horse
  • Hebrew: סייח (s’yách) — young horse
  • Hungarian: csikó — young horse
  • Icelandic: folald — young horse
  • Indonesian: anak kuda — young horse
  • Ingrian: varsa — young horse
  • Ingush: бакъ (baqʼ) — young horse
  • Irish: searrach — young horse
  • Italian: puledro — young horse
  • Japanese: 子馬 (kouma) — young horse
  • Javanese: belo — young horse
  • Kalmyk: унһн (unğn) — young horse
  • Kazakh: құлын (qūlyn) — young horse
  • Kazakh: құлыншақ (qūlynşaq) — young horse
  • Komi-Zyrian: чань (ćań) — young horse
  • Korean: 망아지 (mang'aji) — young horse
  • Central Kurdish: جوانوو (cwanû) — young horse
  • Northern Kurdish: canî — young horse
  • Kyrgyz: кулун (kulun) — young horse
  • Kyrgyz: тай (tay) — young horse
  • Latin: equulus — young horse
  • Latvian: kumeļš — young horse
  • Lithuanian: kumeliukas — young horse
  • Macedonian: ждребе (ždrebe) — young horse
  • Malay: anak kuda — young horse
  • Maltese: felu — young horse
  • Māori: punua hōiho — young horse
  • Māori: hōiho kuao — young horse
  • Mongolian: унага (unaga) — young horse
  • Norman: poulain — young horse
  • Norwegian: føll — young horse
  • Norwegian: fole — young horse
  • Occitan: polin — young horse
  • Old Church Slavonic: жрѣбьць (žrěbĭcĭ) — young horse
  • Old Church Slavonic: жрѣбѧ (žrěbę) — young horse
  • Old English: fola — young horse
  • Persian: کره (korre) — young horse
  • Plautdietsch: Falm — young horse
  • Polish: źrebak — young horse
  • Polish: źrebię — young horse
  • Portuguese: potro — young horse
  • Romani: khuro — young horse
  • Romanian: mânz — young horse
  • Romanian: mânză — young horse
  • Russian: жеребёнок (žerebjónok) — young horse
  • Scottish Gaelic: searrach — young horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: ждребе — young horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: ждријебе — young horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: ždrebe — young horse
  • Serbo-Croatian: ždrijebe — young horse
  • Shor: қулун — young horse
  • Sicilian: putru — young horse
  • Slovak: žriebä — young horse
  • Slovene: žrebe — young horse
  • Slovene: žrebiček — young horse
  • Lower Sorbian: žrěbje — young horse
  • Upper Sorbian: žrěbjo — young horse
  • Spanish: potranco — young horse
  • Spanish: potro — young horse
  • Spanish: potra — young horse
  • Spanish: potrillo — young horse
  • Swahili: mwanafarasi — young horse
  • Swedish: föl — young horse
  • Tagalog: bisiro — young horse
  • Tatar: колын (qolın) — young horse
  • Turkish: tay — young horse
  • Turkish: kulun — young horse
  • Ottoman Turkish: قولون (kulun) — young horse
  • Turkmen: taý — young horse
  • Udmurt: чуньы (ćuńy) — young horse
  • Ukrainian: лоша́ (lošá) — young horse
  • Ukrainian: жеребе́ць (žerebécʹ) — young horse
  • Uzbek: toy — young horse
  • Vietnamese: ngựa con — young horse
  • Vietnamese: lừa con — young horse
  • Volapük: jevodül — young horse
  • Welsh: ebol — young horse
  • Yakut: кулун (kulun) — young horse
  • Albanian: pjell — give birth (equestrian)
  • Bulgarian: ожребвам се (ožrebvam se) — give birth (equestrian)
  • Catalan: pollinar — give birth (equestrian)
  • Czech: ohřebit se — give birth (equestrian)
  • Czech: vrhnout hříbě — give birth (equestrian)
  • Danish: fole — give birth (equestrian)
  • Faroese: fola — give birth (equestrian)
  • Finnish: varsoa — give birth (equestrian)
  • French: pouliner — give birth (equestrian)
  • German: fohlen — give birth (equestrian)
  • Icelandic: kasta — give birth (equestrian)
  • Kalmyk: унһлх (unğlx) — give birth (equestrian)
  • Macedonian: се ождребува (se oždrebuva) — give birth (equestrian)
  • Māori: whānau punua hōiho — give birth (equestrian)
  • Polish: oźrebić się — give birth (equestrian)
  • Portuguese: parir — give birth (equestrian)
  • Romanian: făta — give birth (equestrian)
  • Russian: жереби́ться (žerebítʹsja) — give birth (equestrian)
  • Russian: ожереби́ться (ožerebítʹsja) — give birth (equestrian)
  • Sicilian: figghiari — give birth (equestrian)
  • Sicilian: sgravari — give birth (equestrian)
  • Slovene: ožrebiti se — give birth (equestrian)
  • Swedish: föla — give birth (equestrian)
  • Turkish: kulunlamak — give birth (equestrian)
  • Turkish: taylamak — give birth (equestrian)
  • Ottoman Turkish: قولونلامق (kulunlamak) — give birth (equestrian)