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cowl

Pronunciation: /kaʊl/

The English word “cowl” has 14 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.
  2. A mask that covers the majority of the head.
  3. A thin protective covering over all or part of an engine; also cowling.
  4. A usually hood-shaped covering used to increase the draft of a chimney and prevent backflow.
  5. A ship's ventilator with a bell-shaped top which can be swivelled to catch the wind and force it below.
  6. A vertical projection of a ship's funnel that directs the smoke away from the bridge.
  7. A monk.
  8. A vessel carried on a pole, a soe.
  9. A caul (the amnion which encloses the foetus before birth, especially that part of it which sometimes shrouds a baby’s head at birth).

verb

  1. To cover with, or as if with, a cowl (hood).
  2. To wrap or form (something made of fabric) like a cowl.
  3. To make a monk of (a person).
  4. To scrape together

adjective

  1. cold

Etymology

From Middle English coule, from Old English cūle, from earlier cugele (“hood, cowl”), from Ecclesiastical Latin cuculla (“monk's cowl”), from Latin cucullus (“hood”), of uncertain origin. Doublet of cagoule.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.