Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Caul
Caul
(ka̤l)
, Noun.
[OE.
calle
, kelle
, prob. fr. F. cale
; cf. Ir. calla
a veil.] 1.
A covering of network for the head, worn by women; also, a net.
Spenser.
2.
(Anat.)
The fold of membrane loaded with fat, which covers more or less of the intestines in mammals; the great omentum. See
Omentum
. The
caul
serves for the warming of the lower belly. Ray.
It is deemed lucky to be with a
caul
or membrane over the face. This caul
is esteemed an infallible preservative against drowning . . . According to Chrysostom, the midwives frequently sold it for magic uses. Grose.
I was born with a
caul
, which was advertised for sale, in the newspapers, at the low price of fifteen guineas. Dickens.
Webster 1828 Edition
Caul
CAUL
,Noun.
1.
In anatomy, a membrane in the abdomen, covering the greatest part of the lower intestines, called from its structure, reticuluim, a net, but more generally, the omentum; also, a little membrane sometimes encompassing the head of a child when born.2.
A kind of net in which females inclose their hair; the hinder part of a cap.3.
Any kind of net.Definition 2024
caul
caul
English
Alternative forms
Noun
caul (plural cauls)
- (historical) A style of close-fitting circular cap worn by women in the sixteenth century and later, often made of linen. [from 14th c.]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vii:
- Ne spared they to strip her naked all. / Then when they had despoild her tire and call, / Such as she was, their eyes might her behold […]
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, I.vii:
- (anatomy, obsolete except in specific senses) A membrane. [14th-17th c.]
- The thin membrane which covers the lower intestines; the omentum. [from 14th c.]
- The amnion which encloses the foetus before birth, especially that part of it which sometimes shrouds a baby’s head at birth (traditionally considered to be good luck). [from 16th c.]
- 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society (2012), page 182:
- Even in the mid seventeenth century a country gentleman might regard his caul as a treasure to be preserved with great care, and bequeathed to his descendants.
- 1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society (2012), page 182:
- The surface of a press that makes contact with panel product, especially a removable plate or sheet.
- (woodworking) A strip or block of wood used to distribute or direct clamping force.
- (cooking) Caul fat.
Translations
a style of close-fitting circular cap
the thin membrane which covers the lower intestines
|
part of the amniotic sac which sometimes shrouds a baby’s head at birth
|