trawl
Definitions
General English
General Science
- noun a very long net with a wide mouth tapering to a pointed end, towed behind a fishing boat at any depth in the sea
Information & Library Science
- noun a search for something, especially information
- verb to search for something through a large amount of information or many possibilities
Origin & History of “trawl”
Trawl was probably borrowed from middle Dutch traghelen ‘drag’. this was a derivative of traghel ‘net pulled along behind a boat for catching fish’, which in turn came from Latin trāgula, a possible relative of trahere ‘pull’ (source of English tractor, treat, etc). Trāgula probably also lies behind English trail (14th c.).
