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cowl

UK/kaʊl/US/kaʊl/
nounC2Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #13,871 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: cowls

A cowl is a hood attached to a monk's robe. Pull up the cowl, a monk's cowl, hidden by the cowl.

The word has spread outward: a cowl neck on a jumper is a loose draped collar, and a cowl on a chimney is the cap that stops the wind blowing smoke back down. All three are named from the shape.

Pearson Scott Foresman · Public domain

Definitions of cowl

  1. 1nouncowlA hood attached to a monk's robe.C2

    “The monk pulled his cowl over his head against the cold wind.”

cowl is a hood.

Where it comes from

Old English cule comes from Latin cuculla, a monk's hood.

  1. Latin

    cucullus — hood

  2. Ecclesiastical Latin

    cuculla — monk's cowl

  3. Old English

    cūle

  4. Middle English

    coule

  5. English, today

    cowl

Built from

  • cugele · Old English — hood, cowl

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. a doublet of cagoule.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

cowl in the wild

  • The main disadvantage of the cowl unit is low rear visibility from the cab.

    Cowl unit

  • A cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves, often worn by monks.

    Cowl

  • A cowl is traditionally bestowed upon the monk at the time of making a solemn or lifetime profession.

    Cowl

  • A cowl is a device used on a kiln to keep the weather out of and to induce a flow of air through the kiln.

    Cowl (oast)

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

  • cowlick