caul

[ kawl ]

/ kɔl /

noun

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

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

caught dead, wouldn't be, caught flat-footed, caught in the middle, caught short, caught with one's pants down, be, caul, cauld, cauldrife, cauldron, caulescent, caulfield

Origin of caul

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

Can be confused

call caul cull

Definition for cauls (2 of 2)

caul

[ 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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cauls

The presents which they sent to our General, were feathers, and cauls of network.
Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage Round the World|Francis Pretty
One of the cauls is now laid flat, the veneers upon it and the other caul on top.
The Boy Mechanic, Book 2|Various

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

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