n.

1. A portion of the amnion, especially when it covers the head of a fetus at birth. Also called pileus.
2. See greater omentum.

[Middle English calle, from Old English cawl, basket.]

Membrane enclosing the foetus; that from sheep or pig is used to cover meat while roasting.

[KAWL] A thin, fatty membrane that lines the abdominal cavity, usually taken from pigs or sheep; pork caul is considered superior. Caul resembles a lacy net and is used to wrap and contain pâtés, crépinettes, forcemeats and the like. The fatty membrane melts during the baking or cooking process. Caul may be ordered through your local butcher. To prevent tearing, it may be necessary to soak the membrane in warm salted water to loosen the layers before using.

A belief repeatedly recorded from the 16th century to the present day is that when a baby is born with a caul covering the face (also called a ‘mask’, ‘veil’, or ‘sillyhow’), it must be kept for luck; whoever has one will never drown. This is a case of like-cures-like: ‘for as a caul is removed from the head of a newly born child to save it literally from being suffocated by moisture, it became regarded as a charm against drowning by any who carried one beneath their clothing’ (Lovett, 1925: 52). Formerly, cauls were often advertised for sale, for once sold they protected the new owner. In 1799, as much as 30 guineas was being asked, but prices fell steadily during the 19th century, and by the early 20th century had dropped to a few shillings, though rising to three or four pounds during the First World War (Forbes, 1966: 106-7).

Another belief is reported from Liphook (Hampshire):

An old woman told my niece lately that her brother was so born, and so potent was the influence of the caul that when his mother tried to bathe him he sat upon the surface of the water, and if forced down, came up again like a cork. There seems no doubt that this was fully believed and related in all seriousness. The mother had kept the caul stretched over a sheet of note paper, and whenever her son was in danger it became wet and soft, but it remained dry and like a dried bladder so long as he was safe. It got destroyed somehow, and soon after that the brother, a sailor, was shipwrecked and drowned. (N&Q 9s:3 (1899), 26)

It was very unlucky to lose or throw away a caul; in one case in early 20th-century Somerset a toddler drowned soon after his mother had been persuaded to throw away his caul, and ‘almost everyone in the village’ thought this was the reason (Hole, Folk-Lore 68 (1957), 412). It was also said that someone whose caul was lost would become a restless wanderer.

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Opie and Tatem, 1989: 66-7
• Roud, 2003: 71-2
• Forbes, 1966: 94-111. Most regional collections mention this belief, as do many issues of N&Q
• letters in the Daily Mail on 26 Aug. 1996 showed it is still current

A flat sheet of metal or wood used as a protective layer of plywood, particleboard, fiber-board, etc., during the forming, pressing, and shaping operations.

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A membrane that sometimes covers the head of a child at birth. It was regarded as a preservative against drowning at sea and was consequently much sought after by seamen. Superstitions concerning the caul are of some antiquity. In ancient Rome, Aelius Lampridius wrote about the life of Antonine Diadumeninus, stating that he was so called from having been brought into the world with a band of membrane round his forehead like a diadem, and that he enjoyed a perpetual state of felicity from this circumstance. Roman midwives offered cauls for sale in the Forum.

Even as late as the 1870s, British newspapers often carried advertisements from would-be purchasers of a caul, offering large sums of money. The caul was also used in a form of divination called amniomancy.

In the cultures of northern and eastern Europe, the caul, which marked babies as different, was associated with vampirism. A child born with a caul was thought to become a vampire after death. To prevent such a fate, the caul was removed, dried, ground into fine particles, and fed to the child on its seventh birthday.

IN BRIEF: n. - The inner membrane of embryos in higher vertebrates (especially when covering the head at birth); Part of the peritoneum attached to the stomach and to the colon and covering the intestines.

Tutor's tip: When she saw the "caul" (part of the membrane around a fetus), she dropped it in a "cawl" (wooden basket) and went to "call" (to phone) the doctor.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - sejrsskjorte, bughindenet

Nederlands (Dutch)
darmvlies, helm (bij pasgeborene), kapje van muts

Français (French)
n. - coiffe, (Anat) grand épiploon, (Culin) crépine

Deutsch (German)
n. - Haarnetz, (med.) Omentum majus, Glückshaube

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ιατρ.) επικάλυμμα (τμήμα του εμβρυϊκού σάκου που καλύπτει το κεφάλι νεογνού), (μαγειρ.) μεγάλο επίπλουν, μπόλια

Italiano (Italian)
amnio, omento

Português (Portuguese)
n. - redenho (m) (Anat.), âmnio (m) (Anat.), coifa (f)

Русский (Russian)
водная оболочка плода

Español (Spanish)
n. - membrana amniótica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - fosterhinna, större nätet i bukhinnan, hårnät

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
胎膜, 大网膜

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 胎膜, 大網膜

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 대망막, 꼭 맞는 실내용 여성모

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 大網膜, コール

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) غشا الجنين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מעטה הוולד, עטיפת העובר, החלק האחורי של לבוש-ראש ביתי לאישה, פדר - קיפול המגן על המעיים‬

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