veil

American  

[veyl] / veɪl /

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, especially 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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover or conceal with or as with a veil.

   She veiled her face in black. A heavy fog veiled the shoreline.

2. to hide the real nature of; mask; disguise.

   to veil one's intentions.

verb (used without object)

1. to don or wear a veil.

   In certain Islamic countries women must veil.

idioms

1. take the veil,  to become a nun.

veil ¹ British  

/ veɪl /

noun

1. a piece of more or less transparent material, usually attached to a hat or headdress, used to conceal or protect a woman's face and head

2. part of a nun's headdress falling round the face onto the shoulders

3. something that covers, conceals, or separates; mask

   a veil of reticence

4. the life of a nun in a religious order and the obligations entailed by it

5. to become a nun

6. Also called: velum.  botany a membranous structure, esp the thin layer of cells connecting the edge of a young mushroom cap with the stipe

7. anatomy another word for caul

8. See humeral veil

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verb

1. (tr) to cover, conceal, or separate with or as if with a veil

2. (intr) to wear or put on a veil

Veil ² British  

/ vaɪl /

noun

1. Simone ( Annie ) (simɔn). born 1927, French stateswoman; president of the European Parliament (1979–82): a survivor of Nazi concentration camps

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veil Scientific  

/ vāl /

1. 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.

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veil More Idioms  

1. see draw a veil over.

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Other Word Forms

• veil-like adjective
• veiler noun
• veilless adjective
• veillike adjective

Etymology

Origin of veil

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English veile < Anglo-French < Latin vēla, neuter plural (taken in VL as feminine singular) of vēlum covering; (v.) Middle English veilen < Anglo-French veiler, derivative of veile

Example Sentences

Instead it helps bring home the horror movie’s big theme about the transcendence of art for oppressed people, including “music so true it can pierce the veil between life and death.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The idea that the mind behind the anaesthetic veil is not entirely silent has long intrigued scientists.

From BBC

Clarence Dillon was portrayed in the press as a model investment banker, but his public image veiled a darker reality.

From The Wall Street Journal

Draft beer, peanuts and big-screen sports... the scene is reminiscent of pubs worldwide, but in Saudi Arabia's capital, customers in white robes or black veils sip alcohol-free pints with no expectation of a hangover.

From Barron's

This thinly veiled attack on American supporters of Israel sparked widespread outrage, and Mr. Roberts’s subsequent apology for his poor choice of words did little to quell it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cloak
• curtain
• mask
• shroud