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sur·re·al·ism |səˈrēəˌlizəm|noun
a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.
Launched in 1924 by a manifesto of André Breton and having a strong political content, the movement grew out of symbolism and Dada and was strongly influenced by Sigmund Freud. In the visual arts its most notable exponents were André Masson, Jean Arp, Joan Miró, René Magritte, Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Man Ray, and Luis Buñuel.
ORIGIN early 20th cent.: from French surréalisme (see sur- 1 , realism ).
caul |kôl|noun
1 the amniotic membrane enclosing a fetus.
• part of this membrane occasionally found on a child’s head at birth, thought to bring good luck.
2 historical a woman’s close-fitting indoor headdress or hairnet.
3 Anatomy the omentum.ORIGIN Middle English : perhaps from Old French cale ‘head covering,’ but recorded earlier.
