noun
1.
a piece of opaque or transparent material worn over the face for concealment, for protection from the elements, or to enhance the appearance.
2.
a piece of material worn so as to fall over the head and shoulders on each side of the face, forming a part of the headdress of a nun.
3.
the life of a nun, especially a cloistered life.
4.
something that covers, separates, screens, or conceals: a veil of smoke; the veil of death.
5.
a mask, disguise, or pretense: to find fault under a veil of humor.
6.
Botany, Anatomy, Zoology. a velum.
7.
Mycology. a membrane that covers the immature mushroom of many fungi and breaks apart as the mushroom expands, leaving distinctive remnants on the cap, stalk, or stalk base.
8.
Scot. and North England. a caul.
verb (used with object)
9.
to cover or conceal with or as with a veil: She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.
10.
to hide the real nature of; mask; disguise: to veil one's intentions.
00:10
Veil
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
verb (used without object)
Idioms 11.
to don or wear a veil: In certain Islamic countries women must veil.
12.
take the veil, to become a nun.
Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English veile < Anglo-French < Latin vēla, neuter plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of vēlum covering; (v.) Middle English veilen < Anglo-French veiler, derivative of veile
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English veile < Anglo-French < Latin vēla, neuter plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of vēlum covering; (v.) Middle English veilen < Anglo-French veiler, derivative of veile
Related forms
veil·less, adjective
veil·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To veil
Collins
World English Dictionary
veil (veɪl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a piece of more or less transparent material, usually attached to a hat or headdress, used to conceal or protect a woman's face and head |
| 2. | part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders |
| 3. | something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask: a veil of reticence |
| 4. | the veil the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it |
| 5. | take the veil to become a nun |
| 6. | botany Also called: velum a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe |
| 7. | anatomy another word for caul |
| 8. | See humeral veil |
| —vb | |
| 9. | (tr) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil |
| 10. | (intr) to wear or put on a veil |
| [C13: from Norman French veile, from Latin vēla sails, pl of vēlum a covering] | |
| 'veiler | |
| —n | |
| 'veilless | |
| —adj | |
| 'veil-like | |
| —adj | |
| Veil (French vaɪl) | |
| —n | |
| Simone (Annie) (simɔn). born 1927, French stateswoman; president of the European Parliament (1979--82): a survivor of Nazi concentration camps | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
veil
early 13c., from Anglo-Fr. and O.N.Fr. veil (O.Fr. voile) "a head-covering," also "a sail," from L. vela, pl. of velum "sail, curtain, covering," from PIE base *weg- "to weave." Vela was mistaken in V.L. for a fem. sing. noun. The verb (1382) is from O.Fr. veler, voiller, from L. velare "to cover, veil,"
from velum. Figurative sense of "to conceal" (something immaterial) is recorded from 1530s. To take the veil "become a nun" is attested from early 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
veil  (vāl) Pronunciation Key
A membranous covering or part, especially a membrane surrounding the young mushrooms of certain basidiomycete fungi. In some species the membrane (called a partial veil) extends only from the stalk to the cap. As the cap expands, the veil breaks, leaving a ring called an annulus on the stalk and often scalelike pieces on the cap. These veil remnants are important for identifying species of mushrooms. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
By this power she carries her readers behind the veil obscuring less gifted apprehension.
Mathematical reasoning at it's finest peels back natures veil.
There are many other issues that outsiders can only dimly perceive through the veil of secrecy.
It is time to remove the veil that has protected religious beliefs for so long.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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