*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of trawl

16th century, borrowed from Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”), from Middle Dutch traghelen, from traghel (“dragnet”) (presumably from Latin tragula (“dragnet”)), and as such root-cognate with English drag

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A net or dragnet used for trawling. · A long fishing line having many short lines bearing hooks attached to it; a setline. · An exhaustive search.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

16th century, borrowed from Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”), from Middle Dutch traghelen, from traghel (“dragnet”) (presumably from Latin tragula (“dragnet”)), and as such root-cognate with English drag and dray.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentiontragelennl · to pull with a towline, trawl
  • Derivation mentiontraghelendum
  • Derivation mentiontragulala · dragnet
  • Cognate mentiondragen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "tragelen",
        "t": "to pull with a towline, trawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "traghelen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch traghelen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "tragula",
        "t": "dragnet"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin tragula (“dragnet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "drag"
      },
      "expansion": "English drag"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tragelen",
      "tragelen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "traghelen",
      "traghelen#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "traghel",
      "traghel#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "tragula",
      "tragula#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "drag",
      "drag#English"
    ],
    [
      "dray",
      "dray#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "trol",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "word": "трал",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "tral"
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A net or dragnet used for trawling.",
        "A long fishing line having many short lines bearing hooks attached to it; a setline.",
        "An exhaustive search."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "e059580474fe54c381617922a41bb15cd127d77bed1008af7c19787e5eded996",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e2fef6087ac8b5c313c01495394674b48d09a2fe2d674a1dc0a2a9b0e28bb737",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 234198
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To take (fish or other marine animals) with a trawl. · To fish from a slow-moving boat. · To make an exhaustive search for something within a defined area.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

16th century, borrowed from Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”), from Middle Dutch traghelen, from traghel (“dragnet”) (presumably from Latin tragula (“dragnet”)), and as such root-cognate with English drag and dray.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentiontragelennl · to pull with a towline, trawl
  • Derivation mentiontraghelendum
  • Derivation mentiontragulala · dragnet
  • Cognate mentiondragen
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "tragelen",
        "t": "to pull with a towline, trawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch tragelen (“to pull with a towline, trawl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dum",
        "3": "traghelen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle Dutch traghelen"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "tragula",
        "t": "dragnet"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin tragula (“dragnet”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "drag"
      },
      "expansion": "English drag"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tragelen",
      "tragelen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "traghelen",
      "traghelen#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "traghel",
      "traghel#Middle_Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "tragula",
      "tragula#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "drag",
      "drag#English"
    ],
    [
      "dray",
      "dray#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Faroese",
      "lang_code": "fo",
      "word": "trol",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To take (fish or other marine animals) with a trawl.",
        "To fish from a slow-moving boat.",
        "To make an exhaustive search for something within a defined area."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ambitransitive",
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "recordId": "990e9a683a92ecc577ea1ba639b6b6bd9aaa240101ab3e94384e1fb7234d4eeb",
      "rawRecordSha256": "42fa0f88dfc20b928d4531315621e54795d9b66a9f335181ad96ed551babc400",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 234199
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for trawl →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dHJhd2w