Word origins

• caboshedShown face-on, showing the full face, but cut off immediately behind the ears and hence showing nothing of the neck.
• cabotinageoveracting; hamming
• cabréRearing; forcené.
• Cabriole legIn furniture design, a curved leg with outcurved knee and incurved ankle. A signature design element of the Queen Anne style of furniture, the cabriole predates both 18th century England and Italy. The style originated in Italy and is a conventionalized representation of the rear leg of a leaping goat.
• cachalotThe sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus.
• cache-sexeAn article of clothing sufficient to cover the genitalia, primarily as used by an exotic dancer or in certain aboriginal cultures.
• cachetteA hidden nook; a hiding place.
• cacholongAn opaque or milk-white chalcedony, a variety of quartz or opal.
• cachouA sweet eaten to sweeten the breath.
• cachou de LavalA forerunner of sulfur dyes, prepared by treating products with lignin (like sawdust or straw) with sulfide sources (like sodium hydroxide or sulfide mixed with sulfur).
• cacoletAn open chair mounted to one side of a pack animal, balanced by another on the other side.
• cacqueteuseAn antique French armchair with a narrow back and splayed arms.
• CadixA village and commune of Tarn department, Occitania, France.
• cadransAn instrument by which a gem is adjusted while being cut.
• caducityDotage or senility.
• cafardDepression; melancholy.
• caféA coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the premises.
• café au laitCoffee mixed with hot milk as a drink; white coffee; (countable) a serving of this.
• café-chantantAn outdoor café in which musical performances were given
• café espressoCoffee made in the espresso style.
• café mochaSynonym of mocha (“type of coffee”).
• café noirA cup of black coffee.
• café noisetteAn espresso with a dash of hot milk. It is a hazelnut color. The hot milk is either poured in by the barista before serving, or served in a small pot for the drinker to pour.
• cafestolA diterpene molecule present in coffee.
• cafetièreA cylindrical glass or metal jug, fitted with a filter on a rod, used to make coffee.
• cagotA member of a persecuted minority in south-western France.
• cagouleA lightweight waterproof parka.
• CaillatA surname from French.
• Caille IslandAn island of Grenada.
• CaillierA surname from French.
• CaillouetA surname from French.
• caiqueA small wooden trading vessel, brightly painted and rigged for sail, traditionally used for fishing and trawling.
• caïquejeeA person who rows a caique.
• cajoleryThe act or practice of cajoling; cajolement.
• CajusteA surname from French.
• caladeA slope or declivity in a manège ground down which a horse is made to gallop, to give suppleness to its haunches.
• calambacA fragrant wood; agalloch.
• calamintAny species of aromatic garden herb of the genus Calamintha, now often included in Clinopodium.
• calashA silk and whalebone hood worn by ladies to shade the face.
• calcifyTo make or become hard and stony by impregnating with calcium salts.
• calculeA reckoning; computation.
• calècheA type of carriage with low wheels, especially pulled by horses.
• calembourA pun.
• calipashThe edible greenish material found underneath the upper half of a turtle's carapace (shell).
• calissonA Provençal diamond-shaped confection made with ground almonds.
• CalixteA surname from French.
• calletA trull or prostitute.
• calligramA word, phrase or longer text in which the typeface or the layout has some special significance.
• CallovianA subdivision of the Jurassic period.
• calmativeCalming.
• calorifereAn apparatus for conveying and distributing heat, especially by means of hot water circulating in tubes.
• calotteA skullcap worn by Roman Catholic priests.
• caloyerA reclusive monk of the Greek Orthodox Church.
• calqueA word or phrase in a language formed by word-for-word or morpheme-by-morpheme translation of a word in another language.
• camaieuA style of painting in a small range of monochrome colours.
• camailA piece of chainmail worn to protect the neck and shoulders, replacing the whole-head coif.
• cambistA banker; a money changer or broker; one who deals in bills of exchange, or who is skilled in the science of exchange.
• cambréA bending at the waist in any direction.
• cameralisticsThe science of finance, public administration, and economic policy.
• CamezindA surname from French.
• camionetteA van.
• camoufletThe resulting cavity in a deep underground burst when there is no rupture of the surface.
• camoufleurA camouflage specialist of the First or Second World War.
• campagnolA vole (US, Canada: field mouse), Microtus agrestis that often does great damage in fields and gardens by feeding on roots and seeds.
• campaneA bell, or bell-shaped thing.
• canapéAn hors d’oeuvre, a bite-sized open-faced sandwich made of thin bread or toast topped with savory garnish.
• CanboulayA former harvest festival of Trinidad and Tobago, a precursor to the modern Carnival.
• cancaneuseA female cancan dancer.
• caneléA small French pastry (from Bordeaux) with a soft center and a golden crust, made with rum-flavoured crepe batter, cooked in small molds.
• Canet-PlageA neighbourhood and seaside resort in Canet-en-Roussillon commune, Pyrénées-Orientales department, Occitania, France.
• canetteA kind of stoneware vessel.
• cangueA heavy wooden collar or yoke borne on the shoulders and enclosing the neck and arms, formerly used in East Asia to punish thieves and other criminals.
• caniculeSynonym of dog days.
• CanigouA mountain the Pyrénées-Orientales department, southern France.
• cannelonA fluted mold.
• cannelureA ringlike groove, such as that around the cylinder of an elongated bullet for small arms to contain a lubricant, or around the rotating band of a gun projectile to lessen the resistance offered to the rifling.
• CannoisA native or inhabitant of the city of Cannes on the French Riviera, Alpes-Maritimes department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
• cannoneerAn artillery soldier who maintains and operates (historical) a cannon, or (now) some other piece of heavy artillery.
• canon bitThe part of a bit which is put in a horse's mouth.
• cantinièreA woman who carries a canteen for soldiers; a vivandière.
• caouka high stiff Turkish hat around which a turban is typically wound or folded
• Cap Blanc-NezA headland in Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France, France.
• Cap BonA peninsula in northeastern Tunisia.
• capelineA steel skullcap formerly worn by members of the military.
• capelletA swelling, like a wen, on the point of the elbow (or the heel of the hock) of a horse.
• Cap FerretA cape in Lège-Cap-Ferret, Gironde department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Metropolitan France, France, separating Arcachon Bay, Gascony, from the Atlantic
• Cap-HaïtienA city on the north coast of Haiti.
• capharnaumA disorderly jumble; marked by a disorderly accumulation of objects.
• capillaireA syrup prepared from the maidenhair, formerly supposed to have medicinal properties.
• capilotadeA type of stew, typically of several different meats.
• Capitale-NationaleA region of Quebec, Canada.
• capitoulThe former chief magistrates of the city of Toulouse, France.
• capitoulateRule by capitouls, (specifically, historical) the former municipal government of Toulouse, France, under their direction.
• caponierA work made across or in a ditch, to protect it from the enemy (as fire from it could cover the ditch), or to serve as a covered passageway (e.g. to outworks).
• caporalA type of shag tobacco.
• capotA winning of all the tricks in the game of piquet, counting for forty points.
• CappeAn English surname.
• Capsianof or pertaining to a Paleolithic culture of North Africa (named after primary findings there, in the now southern Tunisian oasis Gafsa) and southern Europe
• capucheA long, pointed hood, as that worn by the Augustinians, Capuchins or Franciscans.
• carabineTo attach via carabiner.