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7 dictionary results for: covert

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

co·vert

[adj. koh-vert, kuhv-ert; n. kuhv-ert, koh-vert] Pronunciation Key

–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

]

—Related forms

co·vert·ly, adverb

co·vert·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. clandestine, surreptitious, furtive.

—Pronunciation note Covert, related to cover, has historically been pronounced

[kuhv-ert] Pronunciation Key, 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

cov·ert (kŭv'ərt, kō'vərt, kō-vûrt') Pronunciation Key
adj.

Not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in, accumulated, or shown: covert military operations; covert funding for the rebels. See Synonyms at secret.
Covered or covered over; sheltered.
Law Being married and therefore protected by one's husband.

A covering or cover.
1. A covered place or shelter; hiding place.
2. Thick underbrush or woodland affording cover for game.
Zoology One of the small feathers covering the bases of the longer feathers of a bird's wings or tail.
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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
covert

c.1303, from O.Fr. covert, pp. of covrir "to cover" (see cover).

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

covert
adjective
1.	secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; "covert actions by the CIA"; "covert funding for the rebels" [ant: open]
2.	(of a wife) being under the protection of her husband; "a woman covert"
noun
1.	a flock of coots
2.	a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something; "a screen of trees afforded privacy"; "under cover of darkness"; "the brush provided a covert for game"; "the simplest concealment is to match perfectly the color of the background" [syn: screen]

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Covert, MI Zip code(s): 49043

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Covert

Cov"ert\ (k?v"?rt), a. [OF. covert, F. couvert, p. p. of couvrir. See Cover, v. t.]

1. Covered over; private; hid; secret; disguised.

How covert matters may be best disclosed. --Shak.

Whether of open war or covert guile. --Milton

2. Sheltered; not open or exposed; retired; protected; as, a covert nook. -- Wordsworth.

Of either side the green, to plant a covert alley. --Bacon.

3. (Law) Under cover, authority or protection; as, a feme covert, a married woman who is considered as being under the protection and control of her husband.

Covert way, (Fort.) See Covered way, under Covered.

Syn: Hidden; secret; private; covered; disguised; insidious; concealed. See Hidden.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Covert

Cov"ert\, n. [OF. See Covert, a.]

1. A place that covers and protects; a shelter; a defense.

A tabernacle . . . for a covert from storm. --Is. iv. 6.

The highwayman has darted from his covered by the wayside. --Prescott.

2. [Cf. F. couverte.] (Zo["o]l.) One of the special feathers covering the bases of the quills of the wings and tail of a bird. See Illust. of Bird.

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