What does "cowl" mean?
A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.
Cowl
/kaʊl/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.
- Grammar: cowl is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cowling, hood, accelerator, aeroplane.
- Useful contrasts: expose, exposed engine, exposed head.
- Usage evidence: The cowl does not make the monk.
How to use "cowl"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cowl" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cowl" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cowl" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cowl" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cowl" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cowling" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cowl", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A monk's hood that can be pulled forward to cover the face; a robe with such a hood attached to it.
"c. 1536, William Tyndale, An Exposycyon vpon the v. vi. vii. Chapters of Mathewe, An Exposycyon of the syxte Capiter, And therfore al our monkes whose professyon was neuer to eate fleshe, set vp the Pope and toke dispensacyons bothe for that faste and also for theyr strayte rules, and made theyr strayte rules as wyde as the hodes of theyr cowles."
- 2 A vessel carried on a pole, a soe. British, obsolete
- 3 A caul (the amnion which encloses the foetus before birth, especially that part of it which sometimes shrouds a baby’s head at birth).
"According to one of his accounts—and his accounts varied with his audience—he was the seventh son of a seventh son, and born with a cowl on his face […]"
- 4 a loose hood or hooded robe (as worn by a monk) wordnet
- 5 A mask that covers the majority of the head.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine wordnet
- 7 A thin protective covering over all or part of an engine; also cowling.
"[…] fire was spurting up from the torn engine cowl and glowing in the cockpit."
- 8 A usually hood-shaped covering used to increase the draft of a chimney and prevent backflow.
"In the extreme clearness of the atmosphere the line of every roof, the cowl of every chimney was perceptible […]"
- 9 A ship's ventilator with a bell-shaped top which can be swivelled to catch the wind and force it below.
"He flung himself at the port ventilator as though he meant to tear it out bodily and toss it overboard. All he did was to move the cowl round a few inches, with an enormous expenditure of force, and seemed spent in the effort."
- 10 A vertical projection of a ship's funnel that directs the smoke away from the bridge.
- 11 A monk. metonymically
Verb
- 1 To cover with, or as if with, a cowl (hood).
"Why cowl thy face beneath the Mourner’s hood,"
- 2 cover with or as with a cowl wordnet
- 3 To wrap or form (something made of fabric) like a cowl.
"When he came downstairs from the bar with the whiskies, she had found a sweater for herself and had cowled a thick raincoat over Sligo."
- 4 To make a monk of (a person). transitive
- 5 To scrape together Yorkshire
"COWL, scrape together. "Cowlin t'cinders up.""
Adjective
- 1 cold
"An' bitther cowl; an' min' ye I had play,"
Antonyms
Example
"The cowl does not make the monk."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cowl"?
Common synonyms include: cowling, hood, accelerator, aeroplane, airplane, apply.
How do you use "cowl" in a sentence?
The cowl does not make the monk.
How do you pronounce "cowl"?
Pronounced /kaʊl/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Middle English coul, covel, from Old French cuvel (“vat”), diminutive of cuve, from Latin cūpa (“tub, cask, tun, vat”).
Etymology 3
See caul, probably altered due to semantic association (“something covering the head”).
Etymology 4
Borrowed from Ulster Scots coul, from Middle English cold.