or COUL, a sort of monkish habit worn by the Bernardines and Benedictines. The word is formed from cucullus, by confounding the two first syllables into one, as being the same twice repeated. There are two kinds of cowl: the one white, very large, worn in ceremony, and when they assist at the office; the other black, worn on ordinary occasions, in the streets, &c.

F. Mabillon maintains the coal to be the same thing in its origin with the scapular. The author of the apology of the emperor Henry IV. distinguishes two forms of couls; the one is a gown reaching to the feet, having sleeves, and a capuchin, used in ceremonies; the other a kind of hood to work in, called also a scapular, because it only covers the head and shoulders.