Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Veil
Veil
(vāl)
, Noun.
[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
Her unadornéd golden tresses wore.
veil
down to the slender waist,Her unadornéd golden tresses wore.
Milton.
2.
A cover; a disguise; a mask; a pretense.
[I will] pluck the borrowed
veil
of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page. Shakespeare
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.
(Zool.)
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
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Veiled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Veiling
.] [Written also
vail
.] 1.
To throw a veil over; to cover with a veil.
Her face was
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her person shined.
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
. Shakespeare
Webster 1828 Edition
Veil
VEIL
,Noun.
1.
A cover; a curtain; something to intercept the view and lude an object.2.
A cover; a disguise. [See Vail. The latter orthography gives the Latin pronunciation as well as the English, and is to be preferred.VEIL
, v.t.1.
To cover with a veil; to conceal.2.
To invest; to cover.3.
To hide. [See Vail.]Definition 2024
veil
veil
English
Noun
veil (plural veils)
- Something hung up, or spread out, to hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphanous material, to hide or protect the face.
- Bible, Matthew xxvii. 51
- The veil of the temple was rent in twain.
- Milton
- She, as a veil down to the slender waist, / Her unadorned golden tresses wore.
- Bible, Matthew xxvii. 51
- A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
- Shakespeare
- [I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page.
- 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence. p. 4.
- Beckett complains that "in the forest of symbols" there is never quiet, and longs to break through the veil of language to silence.
- Shakespeare
- The calyptra of mosses.
- A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
- A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over a baby's head); a nun's veil; a paten veil; an altar veil.
- (zoology) velum (A circular membrane round the cap of medusa)
- (mycology) A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
Derived terms
Translations
something to hide an object
covering for a person or thing
Verb
veil (third-person singular simple present veils, present participle veiling, simple past and past participle veiled)
- To put on, or decorate with, a veil.
- To conceal as with a veil.
- The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.
Translations
put on or decorate with a veil
conceal with a veil
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Verb
veil
Adjective
veil (comparative veiler, superlative veilst)
- venal
- Een veile vrouw. — A venal woman.
Inflection
| Inflection of veil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | veil | |||
| inflected | veile | |||
| comparative | veiler | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | veil | veiler | het veilst het veilste |
|
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | veile | veilere | veilste |
| n. sing. | veil | veiler | veilste | |
| plural | veile | veilere | veilste | |
| definite | veile | veilere | veilste | |
| partitive | veils | veilers | — | |