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PlainSpell

caul

/kɔl/noun

caul is spelled C-A-U-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, caul means “A style of close-fitting circular cap worn by women in the sixteenth century and later, often made of linen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of caul is cauls.

How many letters and syllables are in caul?

Letters4: C-A-U-L
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 8 million words; the 84,254th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is caul?

Caul appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 84,254th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce caul?

  • UK /kɔːl/
  • US /kɔl/
  • /kɑl/

Caul has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-caul.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with caul

Sounds like: call (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with caul?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as caul from its last stressed vowel (/ɔl/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of caul

  • cauls plural
  • call
  • cawl

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does caul mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A style of close-fitting circular cap worn by women in the sixteenth century and later, often made of linen.

  2. 2

    UKAn entry to a mill lead taken from a burn or stream (a mill lead (or mill waterway) is generally smaller than a canal but moves a large volume of water).

  3. 3

    A membrane.

  4. 4

    The thin membrane which covers the lower intestines; the omentum.

  5. 5

    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).

  6. 6

    The surface of a press that makes contact with panel product, especially a removable plate or sheet.

  7. 7

    A strip or block of wood used to distribute or direct clamping force.

  8. 8

    Caul fat.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Caul in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcoiffe (a style of close-fitting circular cap), crépine (the thin membrane which covers the lower…), coiffe céphalique (part of the amniotic sac which sometimes…)
Spanishcofia (a style of close-fitting circular cap), redaño (the thin membrane which covers the lower…), cofia cefálica (part of the amniotic sac which sometimes…)
GermanFettnetz, Schweinenetz (the thin membrane which covers the lower…), Glückshaube (part of the amniotic sac which sometimes…)
Portuguesecoifa (part of the amniotic sac which sometimes…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does caul come from?

From Middle English calle, kelle, kalle, kolle (“caul, net, basket”), from Old English cāwl, cāul, cēawl, cēaul (“basket, container, net, sieve”), of uncertain origin. Reinforced by Old French cale (“close-fitting cap”), possibly a borrowing of the Old English term above, or alternatively related to Old French calotte (“headdress”), from Italian callotta, from Latin calautica (“type of female headdress which fell down over the shoulders”), itself of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots kell (“caul”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after caul