veil
/veɪl/ noun, verb
- noun Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.
- noun (figurative) Anything that partially obscures a clear view.
- noun A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
- noun A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) “a nun's veil”
- noun (biology) The calyptra of mosses.
- noun (zoology) velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
- noun (mycology) A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
- noun (mycology) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
- verb (transitive) To dress in, or decorate with, a veil.
- verb (transitive) To conceal as with a veil. “The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.”
Synonyms
head covering velum caul embryonic membrane humeral veil obscure blot out obliterate hide
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Something hung up, or spread out, to intercept the view, and hide an object; a cover; a curtain; esp., a screen, usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphnous material, to hide or protect the face.
- noun A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
- verb To throw a veil over; to cover with a veil.
- verb Fig.: To invest; to cover; to hide; to conceal.
Etymology [OE. veile, OF. veile, F. voile, L. velum a sail, covering, curtain, veil, probably fr. vehere to bear, carry, and thus originally, that which bears the ship on. See Vehicle, and cf. Reveal.]
Etymology [Cf. OF. veler, F. voiler, L. velarc. See Veil, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “veil”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details