- haul (v.)
- "pull or draw forcibly," 1580s, hall, variant of Middle English halen "to drag, pull" (see hale (v.)). Spelling with -au- or -aw- is from early 17c. Related: Hauled; hauling. To haul off "pull back a little" before striking or otherwise acting is American English, 1802.
- haul (n.)
- 1660s, "act of pulling," from haul (v.). Meaning "something gained" is from 1776, a figurative use from the meaning "the quantity of fish taken in one haul of a net," or perhaps on the notion of "drawing" a profit. Meaning "distance over which something must be hauled" (usually with long or short) is attested from 1873.
