Camel
['kæm(ə)l] or ['kæml]
Definition
(noun.) cud-chewing mammal used as a draft or saddle animal in desert regions.
Editor: Shanna--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A large ruminant used in Asia and Africa for carrying burdens and for riding. The camel is remarkable for its ability to go a long time without drinking. Its hoofs are small, and situated at the extremities of the toes, and the weight of the animal rests on the callous. The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) has one bunch on the back, while the Bactrian camel (C. Bactrianus) has two. The llama, alpaca, and vicua, of South America, belong to a related genus (Auchenia).
(n.) A water-tight structure (as a large box or boxes) used to assist a vessel in passing over a shoal or bar or in navigating shallow water. By admitting water, the camel or camels may be sunk and attached beneath or at the sides of a vessel, and when the water is pumped out the vessel is lifted.
Typed by Gus
Definition
n. an animal of Asia and Africa with one or two humps on its back used as a beast of burden and for riding.—adj. Cam′el-backed hump-backed.—ns. Cam′eleer one who drives or rides a camel; Cam′eline camlet.—adj. Cam′elish like a camel obstinate.—n. Cam′elry troops mounted on camels.—Camel's hair the hair of the camel: the hair of the squirrel's tail used for paint-brushes; Camel's thorn a shrub of the bean family which camels eat greedily.
Typist: Ted
Unserious Contents or Definition
To see this beast of burden, signifies that you will entertain great patience and fortitude in time of almost unbearable anguish and failures that will seemingly sweep every vestige of hope from you. To own a camel, is a sign that you will possess rich mining property. To see a herd of camels on the desert, denotes assistance when all human aid seems at a low ebb, and of sickness from which you will arise, contrary to all expectations.
Typed by Joan
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A quadruped (the Splaypes humpidorsus) of great value to the show business. There are two kinds of camels—the camel proper and the camel improper. It is the latter that is always exhibited.
Editor: Rhoda
Examples
- I suppose it would be a real treat to a camel to have a keg of nails for supper. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- In Smyrna we picked up camel's hair shawls and other dressy things from Persia; but in Palestine--ah, in Palestine--our splendid career ended. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- I shall say to myself, You look fine, Madam but your feet are not clean and you smell like a camel. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Some artists prefer to work directly on the stone with a camel's hair pencil, or with a composition called lithographic chalk. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- You see me now with my back like a camel and my ribs all awry, but there was a time when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest man in the 117th foot. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- The models of that period are referred to as camel backs by reason of the location and shape of the gasoline tank on the rear mud guard. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- It is made of camel's hair, silky. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A camel did this for one of the boys, who was drooping over his saddle in a brown study. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- His under lip hangs down like a camel's, and his ears are chopped off close to his head. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- This reminds me that we have been trying for some time to think what a camel looks like, and now we have made it out. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The camel would not turn out for a king. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- The sides are daubed with a smooth white plaster, and tastefully frescoed aloft and alow with disks of camel-dung placed there to dry. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Reflects the new Veneering crest, in gold and eke in silver, frosted and also thawed, a camel of all work. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I know of one as big as a camel-leopard, by Jove. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- In one of the battles in this civil war, Ayesha, now a gallant, mischievous old lady, distinguished herself by leading a charge, mounted on a camel. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- American deposits in the Miocene display a great variety of camels, giraffe camels with long necks, gazelle camels, llamas, and true camels. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Probably he had to look after her camels or help in her trading operations; and he is said to have travelled with caravans to the Yemen and to Syria. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The road was filled with mule trains and long processions of camels. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- As there are no dromedaries at hand, the band facetiously plays The Camels are coming. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- These camels are very much larger than the scrawny specimens one sees in the menagerie. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- We were compelled to jump over upwards of eighteen hundred donkeys, and only one person in the party was unseated less than sixty times by the camels. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Around it some camels stood, and others knelt. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- You really ought to see their gold and silver camels. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Camels are not beautiful, and their long under lip gives them an exceedingly gallus--[Excuse the slang, no other word will describe it]--expression. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- They persist in not being frightened by the gold and silver camels, and they are banded together to defy the elaborately chased ice-pails. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The camels eat these. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Bored out of the place, and going in for camels. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- It was Eliezer and Rebecca: the camels only were wanting. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Dining-room no less magnificent than drawing-room; tables superb; all the camels out, and all laden. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
Checked by Gwen