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tectrix

 - 4 dictionary results

tec⋅trix

[tek-triks]
–noun, plural tec⋅tri⋅ces [tek-truh-seez, tek-trahy-seez] . Ornithology.
covert (def. 8).

Origin:
1760–70; < NL tēctrīx, equiv. to L teg(ere) to cover + -trīx -trix


tec⋅tri⋅cial [tek-trish-uhl] , adjective

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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tectrix
tec·trix   (těk'trĭks)   
n.   pl. tec·tri·ces (-trĭ-sēz')
One of the coverts of a bird's wing. Often used in the plural.

[Latin tēctrīx, feminine of tēctor, plasterer, from tēctus, past participle of tegere, to cover; see (s)teg- in Indo-European roots.]
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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