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Webster 1913 Edition

Cover

Cov′er

(k?v′?r)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Covered
(-?rd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Covering
.]
[OF.
covrir
, F.
couvrir
, fr. L.
cooperire
;
co- + operire
to cover; probably fr.
ob
towards, over + the root appearing in
aperire
to open. Cf.
Aperient
,
Overt
,
Curfew
.]
1.
To overspread the surface of (one thing) with another;
as, to
cover
wood with paint or lacquer; to
cover
a table with a cloth
.
2.
To envelop; to clothe, as with a mantle or cloak.
And with the majesty of darkness round
Covers
his throne.
Milton.
All that beauty than doth
cover
thee.
Shakespeare
3.
To invest (one’s self with something); to bring upon (one's self);
as, he
covered
himself with glory
.
The powers that
covered
themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland.
Brougham.
4.
To hide sight; to conceal; to cloak;
as, the enemy were
covered
from our sight by the woods
.
A cloud
covered
the mount.
Exod. xxiv. 15.
In vain shou striv'st to
cover
shame with shame.
Milton.
5.
To brood or sit on; to incubate.
While the hen is
covering
her eggs, the male . . . diverts her with his songs.
Addison.
6.
To overwhelm; to spread over.
The waters returned and
covered
the chariots and the horsemen.
Ex. xiv. 28.
7.
To shelter, as from evil or danger; to protect; to defend;
as, the cavalry
covered
the retreat
.
His calm and blameless life
Does with substantial blessedness abound,
And the soft wings of peace
cover
him round.
Cowley.
8.
To remove from remembrance; to put away; to remit.
“Blessed is he whose is covered.”
Ps. xxxii. 1.
9.
To extend over; to be sufficient for; to comprehend, include, or embrace; to account for or solve; to counterbalance;
as, a mortgage which fully
covers
a sum loaned on it; a law which
covers
all possible cases of a crime; receipts than do not
cover
expenses
.
10.
To put the usual covering or headdress on.
Cover
thy head . . . ; nay, prithee, be
covered
.
Shakespeare
11.
To copulate with (a female); to serve;
as, a horse
covers
a mare
; – said of the male.
Syn. – To shelter; screen; shield; hide; overspread.

Cov′er

(k?v′?r)
,
Noun.
1.
Anything which is laid, set, or spread, upon, about, or over, another thing; an envelope; a lid;
as, the
cover
of a book
.
2.
Anything which veils or conceals; a screen; disguise; a cloak.
“Under cover of the night.”
Macaulay.
A handsome
cover
for imperfections.
Collier.
3.
Shelter; protection;
as, the troops fought under
cover
of the batteries; the woods afforded a good
cover
.
Being compelled to lodge in the field . . . whilst his army was under
cover
, they might be forced to retire.
Clarendon.
4.
(Hunting)
The woods, underbrush, etc., which shelter and conceal game; covert;
as, to beat a
cover
; to ride to
cover
.
5.
That portion of a slate, tile, or shingle, which is hidden by the overlap of the course above.
Knight.
6.
(Steam Engine)
The lap of a slide valve.
7.
[Cf. F.
couvert
.]
A tablecloth, and the other table furniture; esp., the table furniture for the use of one person at a meal;
as,
covers
were laid for fifty guests
.
To break cover
,
to start from a covert or lair; – said of game.
–
Under cover
,
in an envelope, or within a letter; – said of a written message.
Letters . . . dispatched
under cover
to her ladyship.
Thackeray.

Cov′er

,
Verb.
I.
To spread a table for a meal; to prepare a banquet.
[Obs.]
Shak.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cover

COVER

,
Verb.
T.
[L.]
1.
To overspread the surface of a thing with another substance; to lay or set over; as, to cover a table with a cloth, or a floor with a carpet.
The valleys are covered with corn. Psalm 65.
The locusts shall cover the face of the earth. Exodus 5.
2.
To hide; to conceal by something overspread.
If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me-- Psalm 139.
3.
To conceal by some intervening object; as, the enemy was covered from our sight by a forest.
4.
To clothe; as, to cover with a robe or mantle; to cover nakedness. 1 Samuel 28:14. Exodus 28:42.
5.
To overwhelm.
The waters covered the chariots and horsemen. Exodus 14.
Let them be covered with reproach. Psalm 71.
6.
To conceal from notice or punishment.
Charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4.
7.
To conceal; to refrain from disclosing or confessing.
He that covereth his sin shall not prosper. Proverbs 28.
8.
To pardon or remit.
Blessed is he whose sin is covered. Psalm 32.
9.
To vail, applied to women. 1 Corinthians 11. To wear a hat, applied to men. Be covered, sir.
10.
To wrap, infold or envelop; as, to cover a package of goods.
11.
To shelter; to protect; to defend. A squadron of horse covered the troops on the retreat.
And the soft wings of peace cover him around.
12.
To brood; to incubate; as, a hen covering her eggs.
13.
To copulate with a female.
14.
To equal, or be of equal extent; to be equivalent to; as, the receipts do not cover the expenses; a mercantile use of the word.
15.
To disguise; to conceal hypocritically.
16.
To include, embrace or comprehend. This land was covered by a mortgage.

COVER

,
Noun.
1.
Any thing which is laid, set or spread over another thing; as the cover of a vessel; the cover of a bed.
2.
Any thing which vails or conceals; a screen; disguise; superficial appearance. Affected gravity may serve as a cover for a deceitful heart.
3.
Shelter; defense; protection. The troops fought under cover of the batteries.
4.
Concealment and protection. The army advanced under cover of the night.
5.
Shelter; retreat; in hunting.

Definition 2024

Cover

Cover

See also: cover

German

Noun

Cover n

  1. (music) cover version, cover song
  2. cover (front of a CD, DVD or magazine)

cover

cover

See also: Cover

English

Noun

cover ‎(plural covers)

  1. A lid.
  2. A hiding from view.
  3. A front and back of a book or magazine.
  4. A top sheet of a bed.
  5. A cover charge.
    There's a $15 cover tonight.‎
  6. A setting at a restaurant table or formal dinner.
    • 1897, Winston Churchill, chapter 1, in The Celebrity:
      When I gave a dinner there was generally a cover laid for him. I liked the man for his own sake, and even had he promised to turn out a celebrity it would have had no weight with me.
    We need to set another cover for the Smith party.‎
  7. (music) A rerecording of a previously recorded song; a cover version; a cover song.
  8. (cricket) A fielding position on the off side, between point and mid off, about 30° forward of square; a fielder in this position.
  9. (topology) A set (more often known as a family) of sets, whose union contains the given set.
    The open intervals are a cover for the real numbers.‎
  10. (philately) An envelope complete with stamps and postmarks etc.
  11. (military) A solid object, including terrain, that provides protection from enemy fire.
  12. (law) In commercial law, a buyer’s purchase on the open market of goods similar or identical to the goods contracted for after a seller has breached a contract of sale by failure to deliver the goods contracted for.
  13. (insurance) An insurance contract; coverage by an insurance contract.
  14. (espionage) A persona maintained by a spy or undercover operative, cover story
  15. The portion of a slate, tile, or shingle that is hidden by the overlap of the course above.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  16. In a steam engine, the lap of a slide valve.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

cover ‎(not comparable)

  1. Of or pertaining to the front cover of a book or magazine.
  2. (music) Of, pertaining to, or consisting of cover versions.

Translations

Verb

cover ‎(third-person singular simple present covers, present participle covering, simple past and past participle covered)

  1. (transitive) To place something over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
    He covered the baby with a blanket.‎
    When the pot comes to a boil, cover it and reduce the heat to medium.‎
  2. (transitive) To be over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
    The blanket covered the baby.‎
    • 1915, Mrs. Belloc Lowndes, The Lodger, chapter I:
      A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; as, again, the arm-chair in which Bunting now sat forward, staring into the dull, small fire.
    • 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:
      Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.
  3. (transitive) To be upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
    Regular hexagons can cover the plane.‎
  4. (transitive) To set upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
    You can cover the plane with regular hexagons.‎
  5. (transitive) To invest (oneself with something); to bring upon (oneself).
    The heroic soldier covered himself with glory.‎
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Brougham
      the powers that covered themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland
  6. (of a publication) To discuss thoroughly; to provide coverage of.
    The magazine covers such diverse topics as politics, news from the world of science, and the economy.‎
  7. To deal with.
    • 2010 (publication date), "Contributors", Discover, ISSN 0274-7529, volume 32, number 1, January–February 2011, page 7:
      Richard Morgan covers science for The Economist, The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired.
  8. To be enough money for.
    We've earned enough to cover most of our costs.‎
    Ten dollars should cover lunch.‎
  9. (intransitive) To act as a replacement.
    I need to take off Tuesday. Can you cover for me?‎
  10. (transitive) To have as an assignment or responsibility.
    Can you cover the morning shift tomorrow? I'll give you off next Monday instead.‎
    He is our salesman covering companies with headquarters in the northern provinces.‎
  11. (music) To make a cover version of (a song that was originally recorded by another artist).
  12. (military, law enforcement) To protect using an aimed firearm and the threat of firing; or to protect using continuous, heaving fire at or in the direction of the enemy so as to force the enemy to remain in cover; or to threaten using an aimed firearm.
  13. To provide insurance coverage for.
    Does my policy cover accidental loss?‎
  14. To copulate with (said of certain male animals such as dogs and horses).
    I would like to have my bitch covered next spring.‎
    The stallion has not covered the mare yet.‎
  15. (chess, transitive) To protect or control (a piece or square).
    In order to checkmate a king on the side of the board, the five squares adjacent to the king must all be covered.‎
  16. To extend over a given period of time or range, to occupy, to stretch over a given area.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:cover.

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Finnish

Etymology

From English cover.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈkoʋer/

Noun

cover

  1. cover, cover version, cover song (rerecording of a previously recorded song)

Declension

Inflection of cover (Kotus type 6/paperi, no gradation)
nominative cover coverit
genitive coverin coverien
covereiden
covereitten
partitive coveria covereita
covereja
illative coveriin covereihin
singular plural
nominative cover coverit
accusative nom. cover coverit
gen. coverin
genitive coverin coverien
covereiden
covereitten
partitive coveria covereita
covereja
inessive coverissa covereissa
elative coverista covereista
illative coveriin covereihin
adessive coverilla covereilla
ablative coverilta covereilta
allative coverille covereille
essive coverina covereina
translative coveriksi covereiksi
instructive — coverein
abessive coveritta covereitta
comitative — covereineen

Synonyms

French

Etymology

From English

Noun

cover m ‎(plural covers)

  1. cover (rerecording)

German

Verb

cover

  1. First-person singular present of covern.
  2. Imperative singular of covern.

Portuguese

Noun

cover m or f (rare) (plural coveres)

  1. (music) cover version (rerecording of a song by another musician or group)

Synonyms

Spanish

Noun

cover m ‎(plural covers)

  1. cover

Swedish

Noun

cover c

  1. (music) cover, cover song

Declension

Inflection of cover 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative cover covern cover coverna
Genitive covers coverns covers covernas

Usage notes

The plural of this word could also be covers.

Derived terms

References

Etymology

Middle English coveren, from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (Modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperio ‎(“I cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operio ‎(“I close, cover”). Displaced native Middle English thecchen and bethecchen ‎(“to cover”) (from Old English þeccan, beþeccan ‎(“to cover”)), Middle English helen, (over)helen, (for)helen ‎(“to cover, conceal”) (from Old English helan ‎(“to conceal, cover, hide”)), Middle English wrien, (be)wreon ‎(“to cover”) (from Old English (be)wrēon ‎(“to cover”)), Middle English hodren, hothren ‎(“to cover up”) (from Low German hudren ‎(“to cover up”)).

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was hide from view as in its cognate covert. Except in the limited sense of cover again, the word recover is unrelated and is cognate with recuperate.

Pronunciation

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