caul

[ kawl ]

/ kɔl /

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noun

a part of the amnion sometimes covering the head of a child at birth.

greater omentum.

a net lining in the back of a woman's cap or hat.

a cap or hat of net formerly worn by women.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of caul

1300–50; Middle English calle <Middle French cale, probably back formation from calotte “kind of cap”; see calotte

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH caul

call, caul , cull

Words nearby caul

caught, caught dead, wouldn't be, caught flat-footed, caught in the middle, caught short, caul, cauld, cauldrife, cauldron, caulescent, Caulfield

Other definitions for caul (2 of 2)

caul²

[ kawl ]

/ kɔl /

noun

a form or plate for pressing a veneer or veneers being glued to a backing or to each other.

Origin of caul

<French cale shim <German Keil wedge

How to use caul in a sentence

If you want, you can add clamping cauls to ensure an even flatter glue-up.
No need to pass the potatoes—spin them with this DIY Lazy Susan|Jean Levasseur|November 19, 2022|Popular-Science
Their cauls provide them with physical invincibility—and, later, income, when they begin selling pieces for profit.
Morgan Jerkins Memorializes a Swiftly-Changing Harlem in Her New Novel Caul Baby|Cady Lang|April 2, 2021|Time
Nevertheless, according to some writers, they lay a small piece of the caul upon the fire.
The Geography of Strabo, Volume III (of 3)|Strabo
To roast a leg of lamb or mutton, remove the caul, the pink skin, and the superfluous fat.
Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3|Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

Every means was used for the recovery o' the boy, but it was a' useless, he was quite deed an' caul'.
Stories and Sketches|Harriet S. Caswell
She wears a white linen hood which shows the shape of the caul in which her hair is imprisoned.
English Costume|Dion Clayton Calthrop
Her hair is enclosed in a stiff square caul of gold wire over cloth of gold.
English Costume|Dion Clayton Calthrop

British Dictionary definitions for caul

caul

/ (kɔːl) /

noun anatomy

a portion of the amniotic sac sometimes covering a child's head at birth

a large fold of peritoneum hanging from the stomach across the intestines; the large omentum

Word Origin for caul

C13: from Old French cale, back formation from calotte close-fitting cap, of Germanic origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012