Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SOLE, n. [Sax. sol; D. zool; G. sohle; Dan. sole; Fr. id.; It. suolo, soil and sole; Sp. suela, the sole of the foot, and suolo, soil; L. solea, solum; that which sets or is set or laid. The radical sense coincides with that of sill.]

1. The bottom of the foot; and by a figure, the foot itself. – Shak. Spenser.
2. The bottom of a shoe; or the piece of leather which constitutes the bottom. The caliga was a military shoe with a very thick sole, tied above the instep. – Arbuthnot.
3. The part of any thing that forms the bottom, and on which it stands upon the ground. Elm is proper for mills, soles of wheels and pipes. – Mortimer.
4. A marine fish of the genus Pleuronectes, so called probably because it keeps on or near the bottom of the sea. These fish abound on the British coast, and hence the name of sole bank, to the southward of Ireland. This fish sometimes grows to the weight of six or seven pounds. – Dict. Nat. Hist.
5. In ship-building, a sort of lining, used to prevent the wearing of any thing.
6. A sort of horn under a horse's hoof. – Encyc.