Caul

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Caul \Caul\ (k[add]l), n. [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.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Anat.) The fold of membrane loaded with fat, which covers
        more or less of the intestines in mammals; the great
        omentum. See {Omentum}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The caul serves for the warming of the lower belly.
                                                    --Ray.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A part of the amnion, one of the membranes enveloping the
        fetus, which sometimes is round the head of a child at its
        birth; -- called also a {veil}.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
              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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I was born with a caul, which was advertised for
              sale, in the newspapers, at the low price of fifteen
              guineas.                              --Dickens.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  caul
       n 1: part of the peritoneum attached to the stomach and to the
            colon and covering the intestines [syn: {greater omentum},
             {gastrocolic omentum}]
       2: the inner embryonic membrane of higher vertebrates
          (especially when covering the head at birth) [syn: {veil},
           {embryonic membrane}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Caul
     (Heb. yothe'reth; i.e., "something redundant"), the membrane
     which covers the upper part of the liver (Ex. 29:13, 22; Lev.
     3:4, 10, 15; 4:9; 7:4; marg., "midriff"). In Hos. 13:8 (Heb.
     seghor; i.e., "an enclosure") the pericardium, or parts about
     the heart, is meant.