Definition of "caul" []

• A portion of the amnion, especially when it covers the head of a fetus at birth. Also called pileus. (noun)
• See greater omentum. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The bull whip which was used cut clear through into what we called caul, or the fat of his neck, and he died in the string, hanging by his hands."
• "* The caul is a, thin membrane, about the consistence of very fine silk, which sometimes covers the head on a new-born infant like a cap."
• "You must know, Madam, that some people are born with a membrane over the face, which is termed a caul, and there has been a vulgar error that such people can never be drowned, especially if they wear this caul about their person in after-life."