veil

English

A veil worn by a statue in Rome.

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /veɪl/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪl
• Homophones: vale, vail, Vail

Noun

veil (plural veils)

1. 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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:51:

     The veil of the temple was rent in twain.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     She, as a veil down to the slender waist, / Her unadorned golden tresses wore.

2. (figurative) Anything that partially obscures a clear view.
   • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 160:

     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.

3. A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:

     [I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page.

   • 2007, John Zerzan, Silence, page 4:

     Beckett complains that "in the forest of symbols" there is never quiet, and longs to break through the veil of language to silence.

4. A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head)

   a nun's veil

   a paten veil

   an altar veil

5. (biology) The calyptra of mosses.
6. (zoology) velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
7. (mycology) A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
8. (mycology) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
   • 1903, George Francis Atkinson, chapter VI, in Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc.‎^[1], 2nd edition, New York: Henry Holt:

     The genus Amanita has both a volva and a veil; the spores are white, and the stem is easily separable from the cap.

9. An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation.
10. (figurative, parapsychology) That which separates the living and the spirit world.
    • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

      "I have heard most furious bigots talking through the veil." "So have I, for that matter," said Malone, "and in this very room."

Derived terms

• corporate veil
• dance of the seven veils
• draw a veil over
• humeral veil
• partial veil
• seven-veil dance
• take the veil
• universal veil
• veil dance
• veil of Isis
• veil of tears

 

Descendants

• → Japanese: ベール (bēru)
• → Korean: 베일 (beil)

Translations

something to hide an object

• Albanian: pëlhurë (sq) f, mbështjellëse (sq) f
• Belarusian: по́крыўка f (pókryŭka), пакрыва́ла n (pakryvála), заве́са f (zavjésa), засло́на f (zaslóna), апо́на f (apóna)
• Bulgarian: заве́са (bg) f (zavésa), покрива́ло (bg) n (pokriválo)
• Catalan: vel (ca) m
• Czech: rouška (cs) f
• Danish: dække n
• Finnish: harso (fi), verho (fi)
• French: voile (fr) m
• Galician: veo (gl) m
• Georgian: საფარი (sapari), საფარველი (saparveli)
• German: Vorhang (de) m
• Greek: πέπλο (el) n (péplo)

  Ancient: κάλυμμα n (kálumma)

• Hungarian: lepel (hu), fátyol (hu)
• Ido: velo (io)
• Latin: vēlāmen n, rīca f
• Maori: kōpare (refers to eyes)
• Norman: vouaile m
• Ottoman Turkish: یاشمق (yaşmak)
• Persian: پرده (fa) sg (parde)
• Polish: zasłona (pl) f, przesłona (pl) f
• Portuguese: véu (pt) m
• Russian: покрыва́ло (ru) n (pokryválo), заве́са (ru) f (zavésa)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgàile f, brat m
• Spanish: velo (es) m
• Swahili: veli (sw), shela, pazia (sw) class 5/6
• Swedish: slöja (sv)
• Telugu: ముఖవస్త్రము (te) (mukhavastramu)
• Ukrainian: покрива́ло n (pokryválo), покри́вка f (pokrývka), заві́са f (zavísa), запо́на f (zapóna), запина́ло n (zapynálo), засло́на (uk) f (zaslóna), опо́на f (opóna)
• Urdu: پَرْدَہ m (parda)

covering for a person or thing

• Albanian: pëlhurë (sq) f, mbështjellëse (sq) f
• Arabic: حِجَاب (ar) m (ḥijāb), خِمَار m (ḵimār), نِقَاب m (niqāb), بُرْقُع m (burquʕ), لِثَام m (liṯām)
• Armenian: քող (hy) (kʻoġ), շղարշ (hy) (šġarš)
• Assamese: ওৰণি (üroni)
• Belarusian: вуа́ль f (vuálʹ), вэ́люм m (véljum), вэ́лем m (véljem)
• Bulgarian: воа́л (bg) m (voál), було (bg) n (bulo)
• Catalan: vel (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 面紗／面纱 (zh) (miànshā)

• Czech: závoj (cs) m
• Danish: slør n
• Dutch: sluier (nl) m
• Esperanto: vualo
• Finnish: huntu (fi)
• French: voile (fr) m
• Galician: veo (gl) m
• Georgian: პირბადე (ka) (ṗirbade), რიდე (ride), ვუალი (vuali)
• German: Schleier (de) m
• Greek: πέπλος m (péplos), πέπλο (el) n (péplo), βέλο (el) n (vélo)

  Ancient: κάλυμμα n (kálumma)

• Greenlandic: kiinnamut saagoq
• Hebrew: צעיף (he) m (tsaíf), כיסוי m (kisúy), מטפחת (he) f (mitpákhat)
• Hindi: घूँघट (hi) m (ghūṅghaṭ)
• Hungarian: fátyol (hu)
• Ido: velo (io)
• Italian: velo (it) m
• Japanese: ベール (ja) (bēru)
• Korean: 베일 (beil)
• Latin: vēlāmen n
• Macedonian: превез m (prevez), вел m (vel)
• Maori: kōpare
• Norman: vouaile m
• Ottoman Turkish: یاشمق (yaşmak), پرده (perde), دواق (duvak) (bridal veil)
• Persian: روبنده (fa) sg (rūbande) (for face)
• Piedmontese: vel m
• Plautdietsch: Schleia m
• Polish: welon (pl) m, woalka (pl) f
• Portuguese: véu (pt) m
• Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi: ਘੁੰਡ m (ghuṇḍ)

  Shahmukhi: گُھنْڈ m (ghunḍ)

• Romanian: văl (ro) n, voal (ro) n
• Russian: вуа́ль (ru) f (vuálʹ), фата́ (ru) f (fatá) (bridal veil)
• Scottish Gaelic: sgàile f, brat m
• Serbo-Croatian: please add this translation if you can
• Slovak: závoj m
• Spanish: velo (es) m
• Swahili: veli (sw), shela
• Swedish: slöja (sv) c
• Tagalog: taong (black mourning veil)
• Turkish: peçe (tr), duvak (tr)
• Ukrainian: вуа́ль f (vuálʹ), ве́льон m (vélʹon), серпанок (uk) m (serpanok)
• Urdu: گُھون٘گَٹ m (ghūṅgaṭ), پَرْدَہ m (parda)
• Uyghur: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: וועלאָן (velon)
• Zazaki: lecek f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} vel (sq) m
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} sluier (nl) m
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} vualo
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} velo (it)
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} veo (sh) m
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} velo (es) m
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} slöja (sv) c

Verb

veil (third-person singular simple present veils, present participle veiling, simple past and past participle veiled)

1. (transitive) To dress in, or decorate with, a veil.
   • 2018, “White Hot”, performed by Loathe:

     I'm under surface
     Towers veiled in silk
     I guess I'm not welcome
     In this house they built

2. (transitive) To conceal as with a veil.

   The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.

Translations

dress in or decorate with a veil

• Bulgarian: забулвам (bg) (zabulvam)
• Catalan: velar (ca)
• Czech: nosit roušku, halit (cs)
• Danish: dække
• Finnish: hunnuttaa
• French: voiler (fr)
• Galician: velar (gl)
• German: verschleiern (de), verhüllen (de)
• Hungarian: lefátyoloz (hu), fátyollal borít/fed
• Maori: kōpare (refers to eyes)
• Ottoman Turkish: یاشمقلامق (yaşmaklamak)
• Portuguese: velar (pt)

conceal with a veil

• Bulgarian: прикривам (bg) (prikrivam), завоалирам (zavoaliram)
• Catalan: velar (ca)
• Czech: zahalit (cs), halit (cs)
• Danish: sløre, skjule (da)
• Finnish: (transitive) verhota (fi), (intransitive) verhoutua
• French: voiler (fr)
• Galician: velar (gl)
• German: verhüllen (de)
• Hungarian: takar (hu), fed (hu), rejt (hu), leplez (hu)
• Ido: velizar (io)
• Latin: advēlō
• Maori: kōpare (refers to eyes)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tilsløre

• Portuguese: velar (pt)
• Romanian: voala (ro)
• Sanskrit: वृणोति (sa) (vṛṇoti)
• Spanish: velar (es)

Anagrams

• Levi, Viel, evil, live, vile, vlei

Dutch

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

veil

1. inflection of veilen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Adjective

veil (comparative veiler, superlative veilst)

1. venal

   Een veile vrouw.

   A venal woman.

Declension

Declension 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	—

Descendants

• Afrikaans: veil

Anagrams

• viel, vlei