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veil - 9 dictionary results
veil
[veyl] 
,–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, esp. 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. |
–verb (used without object)
—Idiom| 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; (n.) ME veile < AF < L vēla, neut. pl. (taken in VL as fem. sing.) of vēlum covering; (v.) ME veilen < AF veiler, deriv. of veile
1175–1225; (n.) ME veile < AF < L vēla, neut. pl. (taken in VL as fem. sing.) of vēlum covering; (v.) ME veilen < AF veiler, deriv. of veile
Related forms:
veilless, adjective
veillike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To veil
| veil (vāl) n.
v. tr.
To wear a veil. [Middle English, from Old North French, from Latin vēla, pl. of vēlum, a covering.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Veil
Veil\ (v[=a]l), n. [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.] [Written also vail.]1. 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. The veil of the temple was rent in twain. --Matt. xxvii. 51. She, as a veil down to the slender waist, Her unadorn['e]d golden tresses wore. --Milton. 2. A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. [I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page. --Shak. 3. (Bot.) (a) The calyptra of mosses. (b) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; -- called also velum. 4. (Eccl.) A covering for a person or thing; as, a nun's veil; a paten veil; an altar veil. 5. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Velum, 3. To take the veil (Eccl.), to receive or be covered with, a veil, as a nun, in token of retirement from the world; to become a nun.Veil
Veil\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Veiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Veiling.] [Cf. OF. veler, F. voiler, L. velarc. See Veil, n.] [Written also vail.]1. To throw a veil over; to cover with a veil. Her face was veiled; yet to my fancied sight, Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined. --Milton. 2. Fig.: To invest; to cover; to hide; to conceal. To keep your great pretenses veiled. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : veil
Spanish:
velo,
German:
der Schleier,
Japanese:
ベール
veil
c.1225, 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. Fig. sense of "to conceal" (something immaterial) is recorded from 1538. To take the veil "become a nun" is attested from c.1325.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: veil
Pronunciation: 'vA(&)l
Function: noun
: a covering body part or membrane; especially :
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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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| 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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veil
see draw a veil over.
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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