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.
Meanings
(not-comparable) Of a light brown color like that of a camel.
[…] try to select accessories that are in the same color family as your coat," says millinery designer Patricia Underwood. To pick up the weave of a brown tweed jacket, for instance, choose a camel hat and black gloves. 1999, New Woman, volume 29, page 212:
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.
Meanings
A mammalian beast of burden, much used in desert areas, of the genus Camelus.
Achilles! a drayman, a porter, a very camel. c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
Returne our Mules and emptie Camels backe,
That we may trauell into Siria, […] c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
It is as hard to come, as for a Cammell / To threed the poſterne of a ſmall needles eie: […] 1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v], signature I3, verso:
As sometimes happens in countries of small civilisation, a leader arose from among the Arabs. None knew from where he sprang, and it was said that he had been a camel driver. 1907, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter IV, in The Explorer:
A light brownish color, like that of a camel (also called camel brown).
(qualifier:typically in the plural) A vessel or tank, typically paired, used to make an object more buoyant.
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 heavy work. In the shape of two large wooden boxes, the camels were flooded with sea water until they sank to a low level in the water; they were then arranged on each side of a heavily-loaded ship and drawn tightly together around the ship by means of heavy chains passing under the ship's hull. As the sea water was pumped out of the camels, they rose up to a higher level, raising the ship between them, and when fully emptied the camels and the ship were towed across the bar easily and safely because of the lesser draft. First used in Holland as early as 1688, the camels were invented by one M. M. Bakker, who named them for their great strength. The Dutch used them to carry large ships over the Pampas, which was a passage between two sandbanks in the Zyder Zee, opposite the mouth of the River Y, and about six miles from the city of Amsterdam. The Russians adopted the idea and used camels for carrying ships over the shoals at Neva... 1961 April, H. Flint Ranney, "Whaling and Nantucket–The Decline: The Civil War, Petition to Congress, and the Camels", Historic Nantucket, Vol. 8, No. 4, p. 59
Near-synonym: pontoon
(ethnic, slur) A person of Middle Eastern origin.
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.
The fers and camel can reach all the cells of one colour. The others are more restricted; the dummy cannot move at all, and the commuter can only move back and forth between two cells. 2010 August 21, G. P. Jelliss, “Simple Chess Variants”, in Mayhematics, page 9:
krc тюе (beast of burden) · am ግመል (beast of burden) · sah тэбиэн (beast of burden) · sid gaala (beast of burden) · gd càmhal (beast of burden) · lzz აქრემი (beast of burden) · vi lạc đà (beast of burden) · sd اُٺُ (beast of burden) · za lozdoz (beast of burden) · sl velblod (beast of burden) · ee kposɔ (beast of burden) · yo ràkùnmí (beast of burden) · el καμήλα (beast of burden) · ne ऊँट (beast of burden) · bo རྔ་མོ (beast of burden) · ace unta (beast of burden) · scn jamiḍḍu (beast of burden) · ks वूँट (beast of burden) · km អូដ្ឋ (beast of burden) · tg уштур (beast of burden) · sd ڏاچِي (beast of burden) · sh де́ва (beast of burden) · gag devä (beast of burden) · kum тюе (beast of burden) · pt camela (beast of burden) · izh verbljuda (beast of burden) · yi קעמל (beast of burden) · chr ᎨᎻᎵ (beast of burden) · eo kamelo (beast of burden) · vro kaamli (beast of burden) · ja 駱駝 (beast of burden) · ady махъчэ (beast of burden) · ccp 𑄃𑄪𑄑𑄴 (beast of burden) · fr chameau (beast of burden) · bua тэмээн (beast of burden) · tzm ⴰⵍⵖⵎ (beast of burden) · mk камила (beast of burden) · sv dromedar (beast of burden) · th โลโต (beast of burden) · ks ووٗنٛٹ (beast of burden) · hi ऊँट (beast of burden) · es camella (beast of burden) · bg ками́ла (beast of burden) · fa شُتُر (beast of burden) · vo jamod (beast of burden) · arc גמלא (beast of burden) · cs velbloud (beast of burden) · sog ݎܘܫܬܪ (beast of burden) · sc camellu (beast of burden) · kjh тибе (beast of burden) · ht chamo (beast of burden) · ar إِبِل (beast of burden) · he גָּמָל (beast of burden) · rif arɣem (beast of burden) · tl kamelyo (beast of burden) · lez лавар (beast of burden) · mel utak (beast of burden) · ngh ǂxʼâqa (beast of burden) · rsk ґамила (beast of burden) · kn ಒಂಟೆ (beast of burden) · om gaala (beast of burden) · ang olfend (beast of burden) · ka აქლემი (beast of burden) · ckb وشتر (beast of burden) · so geel (beast of burden) · kbp aɖaɖa (beast of burden) · ttj engamiya class 9 (beast of burden) · myv ишем (beast of burden) · pa ਸ਼ੁਤਰ (beast of burden) · ps اوښ (beast of burden) · oc camèl (beast of burden) · cu вельбѫдъ (beast of burden) · xal темән (beast of burden) · ca camell (beast of burden) · aa rakúb (beast of burden) · cop ϫⲁⲙⲟⲩⲗ (beast of burden) · bn উট (beast of burden) · ko 낙타 (beast of burden) · fa اُشْتُر (beast of burden) · fur camęl (beast of burden) · pdt Kameel (beast of burden) · ug تۆگە (beast of burden) · jje 낙태 (beast of burden) · peo 𐎢𐏁𐎰𐎼 (beast of burden) · sv kamel (beast of burden) · ti ገመል (beast of burden) · myv дуе (beast of burden) · io kamelo (beast of burden) · niq tombes (beast of burden) · wal gaameelaa (beast of burden) · rhg uñth (beast of burden) · id unta (beast of burden) · as উট (beast of burden) · ady махъушэ (beast of burden) · pl wielbłąd (beast of burden) · eu gamelu (beast of burden) · az dəvə (beast of burden) · enm camel (beast of burden) · mr उंट (beast of burden) · alt тӧӧ (beast of burden) · ba дөйә (beast of burden) · ml ഒട്ടകം (beast of burden) · es dromedario (beast of burden) · wa chamo (beast of burden) · ky төө (beast of burden) · hu teve (beast of burden) · th อูฐ (beast of burden) · yue 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · pt camelo (beast of burden) · tr hecin (beast of burden) · ab амахҽ (beast of burden) · mnc ᡨᡝᠮᡝᠨ (beast of burden) · tt дөя (beast of burden) · ro cămilă (beast of burden) · kxd unta (beast of burden) · ar بَعِير (beast of burden) · ja ラクダ (beast of burden) · ota دوه (beast of burden) · or ଓଟ (beast of burden) · ar جمل (beast of burden) · mn ᠲᠡᠮᠡᠭᠡ (beast of burden) · syl ꠃꠐ (beast of burden) · tyv теве (beast of burden) · sh kàmila (beast of burden) · mn тэмээ (beast of burden) · orv вельблѫдъ (beast of burden) · it cammella (beast of burden) · sl kamela (beast of burden) · mrw onta (beast of burden) · kw kowrvargh (beast of burden) · it cammello (beast of burden) · sne unta (beast of burden) · ar جَمَل (beast of burden) · tg шутур (beast of burden) · evn тэве̄н (beast of burden) · dv ޖަމަލު (beast of burden) · nv ghą́ą́ʼaskʼidii (beast of burden) · mt ġemel (beast of burden) · ko 락타 (beast of burden) · zh луәтуә (beast of burden) · tcy ಒಂಟೆ (beast of burden) · pjt auru (beast of burden) · av варани (beast of burden) · arc ܓܡܠܐ (beast of burden) · dsb kamelka (beast of burden) · sk ťava (beast of burden) · gu ઊંટ (beast of burden) · zza deve (diq) (beast of burden) · ae 𐬎𐬱𐬙𐬭𐬀 (beast of burden) · gld тэмэн (beast of burden) · gug mymba'akãndu (beast of burden) · my ကုလားအုတ် (beast of burden) · mwr करहलौ (beast of burden) · is úlfaldi (beast of burden) · peo 𐎢𐏁 (beast of burden) · sq deve (beast of burden) · yka unta' (beast of burden) · csb kamél (beast of burden) · got 𐌿𐌻𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 (beast of burden) · rm chamel (beast of burden) · tal raƙumi (beast of burden) · sc cammellu (beast of burden) · apw bigháń háʼááhí (beast of burden) · zh 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · ckb حوشتر (beast of burden) · lad gameyo (beast of burden) · sh ка̀мила (beast of burden) · lt kupranugaris (beast of burden) · grc κάμηλος (beast of burden) · lbe варани (beast of burden) · njo-jgl ut (beast of burden) · ak afunupɔnkɔ (beast of burden) · pa شُتَر (beast of burden) · jv ꦲꦸꦤ꧀ꦠ (beast of burden) · hoh həbáar (beast of burden) · pal 𐭠𐭥𐭱𐭲𐭫 (beast of burden) · nrf chanmeau (beast of burden) · ru верблю́д (beast of burden) · pi oṭṭha (beast of burden) · enm olfent (beast of burden) · os теуа (beast of burden) · es camello (beast of burden) · kaa túye (beast of burden) · he בֶּכֶר (beast of burden) · sh déva (beast of burden) · mos yʋgemde (beast of burden) · kmr hêştir (beast of burden) · rw indogoba (beast of burden) · he נָאקָה (beast of burden) · akk 𒃵𒂷 (beast of burden) · te లొట్టిపిట్ట (beast of burden) · fy kamiel (beast of burden) · hsb kamel (beast of burden) · bo རྔ་མོང (beast of burden) · fi kameli (beast of burden) · gon ఊటడ్ (beast of burden) · nn kamel (beast of burden) · my ကုလားအုပ် (beast of burden) · aii ܓܘܼܡܠܵܐ (beast of burden) · bcl kamelyo (beast of burden) · pa اُون٘ٹھ (beast of burden) · lez деве (beast of burden) · nb kamel (beast of burden) · tn kamela (beast of burden) · si ඔටුවා (beast of burden) · hak 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · an camello (beast of burden) · nl kameel (beast of burden) · hi उष्ट्र (beast of burden) · ks ووٗنٛٹِنؠ (beast of burden) · az nər (beast of burden) · vec camèło (beast of burden) · wuu 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · be вярблю́д (beast of burden) · dv އޮށް (beast of burden) · gl camelo (beast of burden) · gur yʋgnɛ (beast of burden) · fr chamelle (beast of burden) · la camēla (beast of burden) · lo ອູດ (beast of burden) · dsb kamel (beast of burden) · udi буш (beast of burden) · da kamel (beast of burden) · hi शुतर (beast of burden) · ast camellu (beast of burden) · de Kamel (beast of burden) · mhr верблюд (beast of burden) · mwr ओठारू (beast of burden) · so awr (beast of burden) · kab alɣʷem (beast of burden) · xmf არქემი (beast of burden) · uk верблю́д (beast of burden) · bal اشتر (beast of burden) · sa उष्ट्र (beast of burden) · ha raƙumi (beast of burden) · ms unta (beast of burden) · tr deve (beast of burden) · bo རྔ་བོང (beast of burden) · zag dî (beast of burden) · kmr deve (beast of burden) · udm дуэ (beast of burden) · ngh ǃxʼâqa (beast of burden) · lb Kaméil (beast of burden) · szl kamela (beast of burden) · lzz აქლემი (beast of burden) · hy ուղտ (beast of burden) · rom gumila (beast of burden) · rw ingamiya (beast of burden) · pa اُوٹھ (beast of burden) · tk düýe (beast of burden) · sk dromedár (beast of burden) · ur شُتُر (beast of burden) · ssy gaala (beast of burden) · lv kamielis (beast of burden) · br kañval (beast of burden) · sw ngamia (beast of burden) · hi उंट (beast of burden) · cdo 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · sn ngamera (beast of burden) · tsg onta (beast of burden) · aer kamule (beast of burden) · ur شُتَر (beast of burden) · bal ہشتر (beast of burden) · ga camall (beast of burden) · bm ɲɔgɔmɛ (beast of burden) · kk түйе (beast of burden) · tn kammêla (beast of burden) · fo kamelur (beast of burden) · wo giléem (beast of burden) · ta ஒட்டகம் (beast of burden) · ny ngamira (beast of burden) · fa شُتُر (beast of burden) · ccp 𑄅𑄑𑄴 (beast of burden) · jv ꦲꦺꦴꦤ꧀ꦠ (beast of burden) · et kaamel (beast of burden) · kaa tu'ye (beast of burden) · ar نَاقَة (beast of burden) · la camēlus (beast of burden) · cv тӗве (beast of burden) · af kameel (beast of burden) · zh 駱駝 /骆驼 (beast of burden) · uz tuya (beast of burden) · sux 𒄞𒆳𒋛𒄮𒊏𒀭 (beast of burden) · ttj engamira class 9 (beast of burden) · te ఒంటె (beast of burden) · mdh onta (beast of burden) · cy camel (beast of burden) · ce эмкал (beast of burden) · ast camella (beast of burden) · lld camel (beast of burden) · hi शुतुर (beast of burden) · ur اُون٘ٹ (beast of burden) · pa ਊਠ (beast of burden)