cover
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈkʌvɚ/
ipa: /ˈkʌvə/
ipa: /ˈkʊvə/
ipa: /ˈkʌvəɹ/
ipa: /ˈkʊvəɹ/
ipa: /ˈkɐvə/
rhymes: -ʌvə(ɹ)
Forms: form: covers
form: covering
form: covered
form: covered
form: no-table-tags
form: glossary
form: cover
form: cover
form: covered
form: cover
form: coverest
form: covered
form: coveredst
form: covers
form: covereth
form: covered
form: cover
form: covered
form: cover
form: covered
form: cover
form: -
form: covering
form: covered
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Proto-Italic *kom-
Latin con-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Latin operiō
Latin cooperiō
Old French covrirbor.
Middle English coveren
English cover
From Middle English coveren, borrowed from Old French covrir, cueuvrir (modern French couvrir), from Late Latin coperire, from Latin cooperiō (“I cover completely”), from co- (intensive prefix) + operiō (“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. Cognate with Spanish cubrir (“to cover”).
Senses: examples: text: He covered the baby with a blanket.
text: When the pot comes to a boil, cover it and reduce the heat to medium.
synonyms: bury
glosses: To place something over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
examples: text: The blanket covered the baby.
text: 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.
ref: 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:
text: 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.
ref: 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:
glosses: To be over or upon, as to conceal or protect.
examples: text: Regular hexagons can cover the plane.
glosses: To be upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
examples: text: You can cover the plane with regular hexagons.
glosses: To set upon all of, so as to completely conceal.
examples: text: All the while he held his hat in his hand; and even until he had given his answer, when he covered and bade us be.
ref: 1904, Rawdon Lubbock Brown, Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts:
glosses: To put on one's hat.
examples: text: The heroic soldier covered himself with glory.
text: the powers that covered themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland
ref: 1842, Henry Brougham, Political Philosophy:
glosses: To invest (oneself with something); to bring upon (oneself).
examples: text: The magazine covers such diverse topics as politics, news from the world of science, and the economy.
glosses: To have under one’s scope or purview.
To discuss thoroughly; to provide coverage of.
raw_tags: of a publication
examples: text: Richard Morgan covers science for The Economist, The New York Times, Scientific American, and Wired.
ref: 2010 (publication date), "Contributors", Discover, ISSN 0274-7529, volume 32, number 1, January–February 2011, page 7
glosses: To have under one’s scope or purview.
To deal with or include someone or something.
examples: text: Can you cover the morning shift tomorrow? I'll give you off next Monday instead.
text: He is our salesman covering companies with headquarters in the northern provinces.
glosses: To have under one’s scope or purview.
To have as an assignment or responsibility.
examples: text: Does my policy cover accidental loss?
glosses: To have under one’s scope or purview.
To provide insurance coverage for.
examples: text: We've earned enough to cover most of our costs.
text: Ten dollars should cover lunch.
glosses: To be enough money for.
examples: text: Dad, when I get to University, will I be covered?
glosses: To supply with funds; to settle or pay the costs for; to foot the bill for.
examples: text: I need to take off Tuesday. Can you cover for me?
glosses: To act as a replacement.
examples: text: I wish that popular afternoon show would let us cover some of their commercials – their national stuff can be so annoying.
topics: broadcasting
media
glosses: To air or run locally originated material in place of network material during an internal spot break in a syndicated program.
examples: text: I'm surprised that the band covered this Beatles song so well.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: To make a cover version of (a song that was originally recorded by another artist).
examples: text: Pent up in Utica he vainly forms
A poor Epitome of Roman Greatneſs,
And, cover’d with Numidian Guards, directs
A feeble Army, and an empty Senate,
Remnants of mighty Battels fought in vain.
ref: 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
glosses: To protect, to guard.
To protect from attack in general, to guard.
topics: government
law-enforcement
military
politics
war
glosses: To protect, to guard.
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.
examples: text: In order to checkmate a king on the side of the board, the five squares adjacent to the king must all be covered.
topics: board-games
chess
games
glosses: To protect, to guard.
To protect or control (a piece or square).
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To protect, to guard.
To defend (mark) a particular player or area.
glosses: To protect, to guard.
To provide an alibi for (someone); to provide excuses or apologia for (someone); to carry water for someone.
examples: text: I would like to have my bitch covered next spring.
text: The stallion has not covered the mare yet.
text: Among animals in a domesticated or confined state it is easy to find evidence of homosexual attraction, due merely to the absence of the other sex. This was known to the ancients; the Egyptians regarded two male partridges as the symbol of homosexuality, and Aristotle noted that two female pigeons would cover each other if no male was at hand.
ref: 1927, Havelock Ellis, Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 (of 6):
synonyms: impregnate
glosses: To copulate with (said of certain male animals such as dogs and horses).
glosses: To extend over a given period of time or range, to occupy, to stretch over a given area.
examples: text: November 22 — Owing to bad weather all machines flew at a height of 5,000 feet and covered the 90 miles in just 90 minutes . November 23 — During fourth lap ...
ref: 1915, Aerial Age:
text: It had covered better than 840 miles in just a few hours more than seven days.32 The apparently clumsily managed shuffle through the various railroad nets ...
ref: 1989, Robert K. Krick, Parker's Virginia Battery, C.S.A.:
glosses: To traverse or put behind a certain distance.
examples: text: […] he told plaintiff he would cover the table, and furnish it the same as the one he was sitting at, and that he should be waited upon and served the same as those on the other side of the room.
ref: 1892, George Chase, Leading Cases Upon the Law of Torts, page 46:
text: […] the chef can send a runner to see why not and if the waiter has forgotten about the order, a runner can cover and serve.
ref: 1989, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, volume 180, page 83:
synonyms: lay the table
set the table
glosses: To arrange plates, etc. on (a table) in preparation for a meal.
Derived terms: sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: becover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: coverability
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: coverable
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: coverage
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: coverall
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover all of one's bases
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover all of the bases
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover all the bases
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covered bridge
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covered call
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covered way
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: coverer
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover-few
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covering fire
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covering letter
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covering number
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covering sickness
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: covering space
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover one's back
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover one's bases
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover oneself in glory
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover one's feet
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover one's tracks
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover someone's ass
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover someone's back
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover the bases
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover the buckle
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover the spot
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover the waterfront
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cover up
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cut and cover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: cut-and-cover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: discover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: duck and cover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: edge covering number
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: forcover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: Lindelöf covering theorem
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: overcover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: precover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: recover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: re-covering
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: self-covered
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: snow-covered
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: uncover
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: well covered
sense: Terms derived from cover (verb)
word: well-covered