CAMEL • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Camel

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/kˈæməl/ Listen

noun

camel n.

1.

(Zool.) 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 hump on the back, while the Bactrian camel (Camelus Bactrianus) has two. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña, of South America, belong to a related genus (Auchenia).

2.

(Naut.) 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.

Camel bird (Zool.), the ostrich.

Camel locust (Zool.), the mantis.

Camel's thorn (Bot.), a low, leguminous shrub (Alhagi maurorum) of the Arabian desert, from which exudes a sweetish gum, which is one of the substances called manna.

See images of 'Camel'

Etymology of 'Camel'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Camel" Quotes from Famous Books

... camels had been travelling along the road on which Sachuli went, each carrying sacks of gold mohurs and rupees, and one of these camels broke loose from the string and strayed away, and the camel-drivers could not find it again. But Sachuli met it, and caught it and ...

— Indian Fairy Tales • Anonymous

... gave him. He fastened the cheek-strap very carefully, just in the usual hole, for fear of choking his friend, or else letting the bit get amongst his teeth. It was a job to get the saddle on; but with the chair he managed it. If old Diamond had had an education in physics to equal that of the camel, he would have knelt down to let him put it on his back, but that was more than could be expected of him, and then Diamond had to creep quite under him to get hold of the girth. The collar was almost ...

— At the Back of the North Wind • George MacDonald

... "'Camel-like, laden with woe,' said Ozonna, 'after many wild rovings in quest of a maiden long lost—beautiful Ady! and after being repelled in Maramma; and in vain hailed to land at Serenia, represented as naught but another Maramma;—with vague promises of discovering Ady, ...

— Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. II (of 2) • Herman Melville

... other Life is living Death, a world where None but Phantoms dwell, A breath, a wind, a sound, a voice, a tinkling Of the Camel bell." ...

— In the Wilderness • Robert Hichens

... caravan people knew the shortest way. I also preferred to travel in human company rather than alone. No sooner had the caravan reached us than our attention was drawn to the faces of the camels probing the distance. You know how a camel examines the air as he goes along—he is continually stretching forth his head and smelling the air, and he can do this easily with his long neck. As camels live in the desert they must keep smelling the air to find out its humidity. Every time the air is very humid they know that water is ...

— Kari the Elephant • Dhan Gopal Mukerji

Copyright © 2025 e-Free Translation.com