cowl

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cowl a large loose hood, especially one forming part of a monk's habit. Recorded from Old English (in form cugele, cūle) the word comes from ecclesiastical Latin cuculla, from Latin cucullus ‘hood of a cloak’.
the cowl does not make the monk appearance is no reliable guide to a person's true character (an element of deliberate deception is also sometimes implied). The saying is recorded from the late 14th century, but the 13th-century Ancrene Wisse has the related comment, ‘Her in is religiun, nawt i the wide hod ne i the blake cape.’

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