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definitions

caul

1
[ kawl ]
/ kɔl /
|

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.

Nearby words

  1. caught dead, wouldn't be,
  2. caught flat-footed,
  3. caught in the middle,
  4. caught short,
  5. caught with one's pants down, be,
  6. cauld,
  7. cauldrife,
  8. cauldron,
  9. caulescent,
  10. caulfield

Origin of caul

1
1300–50; Middle English calle < Middle French cale, probably back formation from calotte “kind of cap”; see calotte
Can be confusedcall caul cull

caul

2
[ 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

2
< French cale shim < German Keil wedge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cauls

British Dictionary definitions for cauls

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
Word Origin and History for cauls

caul

n.

early 14c., "close-fitting cap worn by women," from French cale "cap," back-formation from calotte, from Italian callotta, from Latin calautica "type of female headdress with pendent lappets," a foreign word of unknown origin. Medical use, in reference to various membranes, dates to late 14c. Especially of the amnion enclosing the fetus before birth from 1540s. This, if the child is born draped in it, was supersititously supposed to protect against drowning (cauls were advertised for sale in British newspapers through World War I).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for cauls

caul

[ kôl ]

n.

A portion of the amnion, especially when it covers the head of a fetus at birth.veil
greater omentum
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.