camel

cam-el · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    A large, long-necked mammal with one or two humps on its back, adapted to desert conditions and used for riding and carrying loads.

  2. 2.

    A brownish-yellow color like that of camel hair.

Forms

plural: camels

Phrases & expressions

  • •
    the straw that broke the camel's back — the final small thing that causes a collapse or failure
  • •
    camel through the eye of a needle — something extremely difficult or impossible
  • •
    ship of the desert — a poetic term for a camel

Related words

See also: desert, dromedary, hump
Synonyms: dromedary, ship of the desert

Etymology

From Latin camelus, from Greek kamelos (κάμηλος), from Semitic sources (compare Hebrew gamal, Arabic jamal). The animal has been domesticated for thousands of years in the Middle East and North Africa.