Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SOIL, n. [G. süle. See the verb.]

1. Dirt; any foul matter upon another substance; foulness; spot.
2. Stain; tarnish. A lady's honor … will not beat a soil. – Dryden.
3. The upper stratum of the earth; the mold, or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment to plants, or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them. [L. solum, W. swl.]
4. Land; country. We love our native soil.
5. Dung; compost. Improve land by dung and other sort of soils. – Mortimer. To take soil, to run into the water, as a deer when pursued. – B. Jonson.