shawl

shawl — noun

1. a piece of fabric, often square or triangular, that you wear over your shoulders

1.nounB1
Definition

a piece of fabric, often square or triangular, that you wear over your shoulders or head for warmth or as a fashion item

Example

Ava wore her grandmother's lace shawl to the ceremony.

family heirloom on formal occasion

Minh wrapped a soft woollen shawl around the baby to keep him warm.

wrapped + around + person — wrapping a baby

Common collocations
  • wear a shawl
  • wrap a shawl around
  • pull a shawl around
  • drape a shawl over
  • knitted shawl
  • woollen shawl
  • lace shawl
  • silk shawl
  • embroidered shawl
  • old shawl
  • fringed shawl
  • shawl over one's shoulders
  • shawl around one's shoulders
Synonyms
  • scarf

    long and narrow, worn around the neck rather than over the shoulders

  • wrap

    more general term; a wrap can be any piece of clothing you wrap around yourself, not necessarily square or rectangular

  • stole

    a formal, often fur or silk, narrow shawl worn over the shoulders with evening wear

  • blanket

    larger and thicker, used for lying down or sitting still; not worn as an item of clothing

  • cape

    a sleeveless outer garment that hangs from the shoulders and usually fastens at the neck, often with arm slits

Grammar Patterns

a/the shawl

shawls (plural)

Usage Note

A shawl is larger and wider than a scarf and is not sewn into a closed shape like a cardigan. It can be square, triangular, or rectangular, and is often worn by women over the shoulders or wrapped around a baby.

Common Mistakes

She put on a shawl to keep her neck warm while running.
She put on a scarf to keep her neck warm while running.
A scarf is long and narrow and wraps around the neck; a shawl covers the shoulders and upper body and is less practical for active movement.

Word family

  • shawled
    adjectiveC1
  • shawling
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A shawl is a square, triangular, or rectangular piece of fabric worn over the shoulders or head, often for warmth or style. A scarf is long and narrow, designed to wrap around the neck, and is more practical for outdoor wear in cold weather. A wrap is a broader, less specific term for any garment you loosely drape around yourself — it can include pashminas and beach cover-ups. A stole is a formal, narrow shawl, usually made of silk or fur, worn over evening gowns. A blanket is much larger and thicker, meant for lying under or covering the body while resting, not for wearing. For example, at a wedding a guest might wear a lace shawl over her shoulders, but she would carry a stole if the dress code is black-tie. On a winter walk she would reach for a scarf rather than a shawl because it wraps snugly around the neck.

scarf ↗wrap ↗stoleblanket ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • drape a shawl over one's shoulders
  • wrap a shawl around oneself

Prepositions

Etymology

PersianHindi-UrduEnglish

The word entered English in the 1600s from Hindi and Urdu 'shāl', which itself came from Persian 'shāl'. Fine woollen shawls from Kashmir (a region in South Asia) were prized trade goods in Europe, and the English word travelled with the garment.