Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The layer or bed of earth beneath the topsoil.
- v. To plow or turn up the subsoil of.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The under-soil: the bed or stratum of earth or earthy matter which lies immediately under the surface soil, and which is less finely disintegrated and contains less organic matter than that. When, as is often the case, it is densely compacted, it becomes what is frequently called
hard-pan . In agriculture a great deal depends on the character of the subsoil, more especially as to whether it does or does not permit water to pass through it. - In agriculture, to employ the subsoil-plow upon; plow up so as to cut into the subsoil.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The bed, or stratum, of earth which lies immediately beneath the surface soil.
- v. To turn up the subsoil of.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the layer of soil between the topsoil and bedrock
Etymologies
- sub- + soil (Wiktionary)
Examples
“As we continued working in Block 6, the Hospital Block, we excavated down to the subsoil, which is much lighter colored soil than that of the plow zone, which is soil that has been historically disturbed.”
2008 Field Report 2 « Interactive Dig Johnson's Island – Unlocking a Civil War Prison
“As we continued working in Block 6, the Hospital Block, we excavated down to the subsoil, which is much lighter colored soil than that of the plow zone, which is soil that has been [...]”
Interactive Dig Johnson's Island – Unlocking a Civil War Prison
“The B horizon, commonly referred to as subsoil, accumulates material washed out of the A horizon, such as clay, salts, and iron.”
“There is a method which you might find useful on a small scale to which I will now draw your attention, as it is applicable to detached houses or small barracks -- viz., the plan of applying the domestic water to land through underground drains, or what is called subsoil irrigation.”
“The surface soil is friable and easily worked, and the subsoil, which is usually of a rich red colour, is easily penetrated by the roots of trees and plants grown thereon.”
“The portion immediately subjacent is called the subsoil, and it has considerable agricultural importance, and requires a short notice.”
“Before filling in the hole some of the dark coloured top soil, and some of the lighter coloured soil lying below (which is called the subsoil), {3} should be taken for further examination; the two samples should be kept separate and not mixed.”
“The subsoil, which is even more important, is still lighter, being mixed with sand and broken stone; on the contrary, in”
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 14, No. 394, October 17, 1829
“The subsoil is a store of inert fertility that should not remain dormant.”
“After the rain, come wind and sun, to dry off the standing water, — to dry out the free water in the surface soil, and to drink up the water of the subsoil, which is slowly drawn from below.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘subsoil’.
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ENVI - water protection
population equiva..., absorptive proper..., abstraction rate, abundance, acaricide, accidental pollution, admixture, adsorption, agglomeration, algicide, alkalinity, angiosperms and 398 more...
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IMCO - EU nomenclature
includes words of the "Prodcom list"
abaca, abdominal, abrasive, absorbent, absorber, accelerator, accessory, account book, accumulator, acebutolol, acetaldehyde, acetamide and 4515 more...
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Quenelles of Random Palavery
More randomly-garnered terms from the world of words that don't quite yet fit into my other lists.
Goddidit, barcelona, filigrain, good-natured, ill-natured, half-bit, endosome, underplaying, parotid, denormalization, sleightgeist, wheezing and 2334 more...
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the earth beneath our feet
Words that have to do with the earth: dirt, bedrock, grass, flowers, trees, etc.
alluvium, deposit, bedrock, clod, subsoil, undersoil, shale, sedge, hillock, macadam, bracken, chert and 1 more...
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