camel

CEFRA2

/ˈkæml̩/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A large desert animal with one or two humps.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A light brownish color, like that of a camel (also called camel brown).

Examples

  • A camel can store a large amount of water in the hump on its back.

  • A camel is, so to speak, a ship on the desert.

At a glance

Sits at A2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈkæm(ə)l/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A vessel or tank, typically paired, used to make an object more buoyant.

  2. A mammalian beast of burden, much used in desert areas, of the genus Camelus.

  3. A fairy chess piece that is moved three squares in one direction and one at right angles to that direction in a single move, leaping over any intervening pieces.

More examples

In context

  • Nantucket Island is probably the only place in the United States where camels were put to work to solve the problem created by a sandbar. They were Marine camels, and like their live namesake, they were of a rugged construction and were designed to do very he...

  • Near-synonym: pontoon

  • Achilles! a drayman, a porter, a very camel.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the hot desert, a blank can travel for days without drinking water.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English camel, through Old English camel and Old Northern French camel (Old French chamel, modern French chameau), from Latin camēlus, from Ancient Greek κάμηλος (kámēlos), from a Semitic source, ultimately from Proto-Semitic *gamal-; compare Arabic جَمَل (jamal), Hebrew גמל (gamál), Aramaic ܓܡܠܐ (gamlā), Coptic ϭⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (čamoul). As a marine device, from Dutch. As an ethnic slur, short for camelfucker, camel jockey, etc.