English word origin

Etymology of cawl

Borrowed from Welsh cawl, itself borrowed from Latin caulis (“stalk or stem of a plant, particularly a cabbage”), from Proto-Indo-European *kaw(ǝ)l, *kh₂ulós, or *kowos (“tubular bone; pipe”). The English word is a doubl

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A traditional Welsh soup, typically made with beef, lamb, or salted bacon with carrot, leeks, potatoes, swedes, and other seasonal vegetables.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentioncawlcy
Derivation mentioncaulisla · stalk or stem of a plant, particularly a cabbage
Derivation mention*kéh₂wl̥ine-pro
Doublet mentioncaulisen
Doublet mentioncoleen
Doublet mentionkaleen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cy",
        "3": "cawl"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh cawl"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "caulis",
        "t": "stalk or stem of a plant, particularly a cabbage"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin caulis (“stalk or stem of a plant, particularly a cabbage”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*kéh₂wl̥",
        "4": "*kaw(ǝ)l"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *kaw(ǝ)l"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "caulis",
        "3": "cole",
        "4": "kale",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of caulis, cole, and kale"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bowl",
      "bowl#Noun"
    ],
    [
      "cawl",
      "cawl#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "caulis",
      "caulis#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*kaw(ǝ)l",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kéh₂wl̥"
    ],
    [
      "*kh₂ulós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/keh₂ulós"
    ],
    [
      "*kowos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/kowos"
    ],
    [
      "caulis",
      "caulis#English"
    ],
    [
      "cole",
      "cole#English"
    ],
    [
      "kale",
      "kale#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A traditional Welsh soup, typically made with beef, lamb, or salted bacon with carrot, leeks, potatoes, swedes, and other seasonal vegetables."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative spelling of caul (“a membrane or veil, especially over a baby's head”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

A variant of caul.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "caul",
      "caul#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of caul (“a membrane or veil, especially over a baby's head”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cawl →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y2F3bA