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Added 9 October 2026

veil

/veɪl/ noun

In Latin: rīca, rīcīnum, vēlāmen Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about veil at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A garment that covers the head and face.
A membranous covering attached to the immature fruiting body of certain mushrooms.
The inner membrane of embryos in higher vertebrates (especially when covering the head at birth).

verb

To obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil.
women in Afghanistan veil their faces
Make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing.
a hidden message

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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