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covert

 - 4 dictionary results

co⋅vert

[adj. koh-vert, kuhv-ert; n. kuhv-ert, koh-vert]
–adjective
1. concealed; secret; disguised.
2. covered; sheltered.
3. Law. (of a wife) under the protection of one's husband.
–noun
4. a covering; cover.
5. a shelter or hiding place.
6. concealment or disguise.
7. Hunting. a thicket giving shelter to wild animals or game.
8. Also called tectrix. Ornithology. one of the small feathers that cover the bases of the large feathers of the wings and tail.
9. covert cloth.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME < AF, OF < L coopertus, ptp. of cooperīre to cover completely; see cover


co⋅vert⋅ly, adverb
co⋅vert⋅ness, noun


1. clandestine, surreptitious, furtive.


Covert, related to cover, has historically been pronounced[kuhv-ert] , with[uh], the same stressed vowel found in cover. This[uh] is the traditional and unchallenged vowel in many other English words spelled with stressed o followed by v, voiced th, or a nasal in the same syllable, words of high frequency like love and above, mother and other, some and honey. The adjective covert, however, by analogy with overt [oh-vurt, oh-vert], its semantic opposite, has developed the pronunciation[koh-vert], perhaps because of the frequent coupling of the two terms in the news media. This is now the more common pronunciation for the adjective in American English, though not in British English, which retains the historical pronunciation. For the noun senses, less likely to appear in the news or to be contrasted with overt and its[oh] sound, the historical[kuhv-ert] remains the more frequent pronunciation.

covert cloth

–noun
a cotton, woolen, or worsted cloth of twill weave, the warp being of ply yarns one of which may be white.
Also called covert.


Origin:
1890–95
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To covert
cov·ert   (kŭv'ərt, kō'vərt, kō-vûrt')   
adj.  
  1. Not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in, accumulated, or shown: covert military operations; covert funding for the rebels. See Synonyms at secret.

  2. Covered or covered over; sheltered.

  3. Law Being married and therefore protected by one's husband.

n.  
  1. A covering or cover.

    1. A covered place or shelter; hiding place.

    2. Thick underbrush or woodland affording cover for game.

  2. Zoology One of the small feathers covering the bases of the longer feathers of a bird's wings or tail.

  3. A flock of coots. See Synonyms at flock1.


[Middle English, from Old French, from past participle of covrir, to cover; see cover.]
cov'ert·ly adv., cov'ert·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

covert 
c.1303, from O.Fr. covert, pp. of covrir "to cover" (see cover).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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