veil
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veil
- /veɪl/ US, UK
Sounds like vale, vail, Vail · Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin vēlum (“cloth, covering”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile.
noun veils
- Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material. The veil of the temple was rent in twain.
- Anything that partially obscures a clear view. Above the smoky veil over the town rose Akerhus fort, with its towers standing out in sharp relief against the mirror of the fjord, beyond where the Nœs point loomed as a black shadow.
- A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. [I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page.
- A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head) a nun's veil
- The calyptra of mosses.
- velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
- A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
- A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum. The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil; the spores are white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap.
- An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation.
- That which separates the living and the spirit world. "I have heard most furious bigots talking through the veil." "So have I, for that matter," said Malone, "and in this very room."
verb veils · veiling · veiled
- To dress in, or decorate with, a veil. Bedouin women veil their faces more strictly than city dwellers but enjoy greater freedom of dress and movement.
- To conceal as with a veil. The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: head covering, caul, humeral veil, embryonic membrane, fetal membrane, drape, robe, scarf, blanket, shroud, cloak, sheet, mantle, lid, voile, headscarf
Translations
Every language
noun something to hide an object
| Español | velo |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | veli, shela, pazia |
| Português | véu |
| Français | voile |
| Deutsch | Vorhang |
| Ελληνικά | πέπλο péplo |
| Русский | покрыва́ло pokryválo, заве́са zavésa |
noun covering for a person or thing
| Español | velo, velete |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 베일 beil |
| 日本語 | ベール bēru |
| 中文 | 面紗 /面纱 miànshā |
| हिन्दी | घूँघट ghūṅghaṭ |
| Kiswahili | veli, shela |
| Português | véu |
| Français | voile |
| Deutsch | Schleier |
| Italiano | velo |
| Ελληνικά | πέπλος péplos, πέπλο péplo, βέλο vélo |
| Română | văl, voal |
| Русский | вуа́ль vuálʹ, фата́ fatá |
| العربية | حِجَاب ḥijāb, خِمَار ḵimār, نِقَاب niqāb, بُرْقُع burquʕ, لِثَام liṯām |
| עברית | צָעִיף tsaíf, כיסוי, כִּסּוּי kisúy, מִטְפַּחַת mitpákhat |
verb dress in or decorate with a veil
| Português | velar |
|---|---|
| Français | voiler |
| Deutsch | verschleiern, verhüllen |
Talk about this word "veil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/veil. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. veil. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/veil "veil." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/veil.Cite this
@misc{veil_2026,
title = {veil},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/veil},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
