Coverlet Cov"er·let noun [ French
couvre-lit ;
couvrir to cover +
lit bed, from Latin
lectus bed. See
Cover .]
The uppermost cover of a bed or of any piece of furniture. Lay her in lilies and in violets . . .
And odored sheets and arras coverlets .
Spenser.
Coverlid Cov"er·lid (-lĭd)
noun A coverlet. All the coverlid was cloth of gold.
Tennyson.
Coversed sine Co·versed" sine (k?-v?rst" s?n`). [ Co- (= co- in co- sine) + versed sine .] (Geom.) The versed sine of the complement of an arc or angle. See Illust. of Functions .
Coverside Cov"er·side` noun A region of country having covers; a hunting country.
Covert Cov"ert adjective [ Old French
covert , F.
couvert , past participle of
couvrir . See
Cover ,
transitive verb ]
1. Covered over; private; hid; secret; disguised. How covert matters may be best disclosed.
Shak.
Whether of open war or covert guile.
Milton
2. Sheltered; not open or exposed; retired; protected; as, a covert nook. Wordsworth. Of either side the green, to plant a covert alley.
Bacon.
3. (Law) Under cover, authority or protection; as, a feme covert , a married woman who is considered as being under the protection and control of her husband. Covert way ,
(Fort.) See Covered way , under Covered . Syn. -- Hidden; secret; private; covered; disguised; insidious; concealed. See
Hidden .
Covert Cov"ert noun [ Old French See
Covert ,
adjective ]
1. A place that covers and protects; a shelter; a defense. A tabernacle . . . for a covert from storm.
Is. iv. 6.
The highwayman has darted from his covered by the wayside.
Prescott.
2. [ Confer French
couverte .]
(Zoology) One of the special feathers covering the bases of the quills of the wings and tail of a bird. See Illust. of Bird .
Covert baron Cov"ert bar`on (b?r`?n). (Law) Under the protection of a husband; married. Burrill.
Covertly Cov"ert·ly adverb Secretly; in private; insidiously.
Covertness Cov"ert·ness noun Secrecy; privacy. [ R.]
Coverture Cov"er·ture noun [ Old French
coverture ,F.
couverture .]
1. Covering; shelter; defense; hiding. Protected by walls or other like coverture .
Woodward.
Beatrice, who even now
Is couched in the woodbine coverture .
Shak.
2. (Law) The condition of a woman during marriage, because she is considered under the cover, influence, power, and protection of her husband, and therefore called a feme covert , or femme couverte .
Covet Cov"et transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Covered ;
present participle & verbal noun Coveting .] [ Old French
coveitier ,
covoitier , French
convoiter , from a derivative from Latin
cupere to desire; confer Sanskrit
kup to become excited. Confer
Cupidity .]
1. To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of; -- used in a good sense. Covet earnestly the best gifts.
1. Cor. xxii. 31.
If it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive.
Shak.
2. To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden). Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
Ex. xx. 17.
Syn. -- To long for; desire; hanker after; crave.
Covet Cov"et intransitive verb To have or indulge inordinate desire. Which [ money] while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith.
1 Tim. vi. 10.
Covetable Cov"et·a·ble adjective That may be coveted; desirable.
Coveter Cov"et·er noun One who covets.
Covetise Cov"et·ise noun [ Old French
coveitise , F.
convoitise . See
Covet ,
transitive verb ]
Avarice. [ Obsolete]
Spenser.
Covetiveness Cov"et·ive·ness noun (Phren.) Acquisitiveness.
Covetous Cov"et·ous adjective [ Old French
coveitos , F.
convoiteux . See
Covet ,
transitive verb ]
1. Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [ Archaic]
Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue.
Shak.
Covetous death bereaved us all,
To aggrandize one funeral.
Emerson.
2. Inordinately desirous; excessively eager to obtain and possess (esp. money); avaricious; -- in a bad sense. The covetous person lives as if the world were madealtogether for him, and not he for the world.
South.
Syn. -- Avaricious; parsimonious; penurious; misrely; niggardly. See
Avaricious .
Covetously Cov"et·ous·ly adverb In a covetous manner.
Covetousness Cov"et·ous·ness noun 1. Strong desire. [ R.]
When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do confound their skill in covetousness .
Shak.
2. A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; excessive desire for riches or money; -- in a bad sense. Covetousness , by a greed of getting more, deprivess itself of the true end of getting.
Sprat.
Syn. -- Avarice; cupidity; eagerness.
Covey Cov"ey noun [ Old French
cov...e , F.
couv...e , from
cover , French
couver , to sit or brood on, from Latin
cubare to lie down; confer E.
incubate . See
Cubit , and confer
Cove to brood.]
1. A brood or hatch of birds; an old bird with her brood of young; hence, a small flock or number of birds together; -- said of game; as, a covey of partridges. Darwin. 2. A company; a bevy; as, a covey of girls. Addison.
Covey Cov"ey intransitive verb To brood; to incubate. [ Obsolete]
[ Tortoises] covey a whole year before they hatch.
Holland.
Covey Cov"ey noun A pantry. [ Prov. Eng.]
Parker.
Covin Cov"in noun [ Old French
covine ,
covaine , from
covenir to agree. See
Covenant .]
1. (Law) A collusive agreement between two or more persons to prejudice a third. 2. Deceit; fraud; artifice. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Coving Cov"ing noun (Architecture) (a) A cove or series of coves, as the concaved surface under the overhang of a projecting upper story. (b) The splayed jambs of a flaring fireplace.
Covinous Cov"in·ous adjective (Law) Deceitful; collusive; fraudulent; dishonest.
Cow Cow (kou)
noun [ See
Cowl a hood.]
A chimney cap; a cowl
Cow Cow noun ;
plural Cows (kouz); old plural
Kine (kīn). [ Middle English
cu ,
cou , Anglo-Saxon
cū ; akin to D.
koe , German
kuh , Old High German
kuo , Icelandic
kȳr , Dan. & Swedish
ko , Latin
bos ox, cow, Greek
boy^s , Sanskrit
gō . √223. Confer
Beef ,
Bovine ,
Bucolic ,
Butter ,
Nylghau .]
1. The mature female of bovine animals. 2. The female of certain large mammals, as whales, seals, etc.
Cow Cow transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Cowed (koud);;
present participle & verbal noun Cowing .] [ Confer Icelandic
kuga , Swedish
kufva to check, subdue, Dan.
kue . Confer
Cuff ,
transitive verb ]
To depress with fear; to daunt the spirits or courage of; to overawe. To vanquish a people already cowed .
Shak.
THe French king was cowed .
J. R. Green.
Cow Cow noun [ Prob. from same root as
cow , transitive verb ]
(Mining) A wedge, or brake, to check the motion of a machine or car; a chock. Knight.
Cow parsley Cow" pars`ley (kou` p?rs`l?). (Botany) An umbelliferous plant of the genus Chærophyllum ( C. temulum and C. sylvestre ).
Cow parsnip Cow" pars`nip (-n?p). (Botany) A coarse umbelliferous weed of the genus Heracleum ( H. sphondylium in England, and H. lanatum in America).
Cow tree Cow" tree` (kou" tr?`). [ Confer SP. palo de vaca .] (Botany) A tree ( Galactodendron utile or Brosimum Galactodendron ) of South America, which yields, on incision, a nourishing fluid, resembling milk.
Cow-pilot Cow"-pi`lot (kou"pī`lŭt)
noun (Zoology) A handsomely banded, coral-reef fish, of Florida and the West Indies ( Pomacentrus saxatilis ); -- called also mojarra .
Cow's lungwort Cow's" lung"wort` (kouz" l?ng"w?rt`). Mullein.
Cowage Cow"age (kou"aj)
noun (Botany) See Cowhage .
Cowalker Co`walk"er noun A phantasmic or "astral" body deemed to be separable from the physical body and capable of acting independently; a doppelgänger.
Cowan Cow"an (kou"
a n)
noun [ Confer Old French
couillon a coward, a cullion.]
One who works as a mason without having served a regular apprenticeship. [ Scot.] Among Freemasons, it is a cant term for
pretender ,
interloper .
Coward Cow"ard adjective [ Old French
couard ,
coard ,
coart ,
noun and adj., French
couard , from Old French
coe ,
coue , tail, French
queue (fr. Latin
coda , a form of
cauda tail) +
-ard ; orig., short-tailed, as an epithet of the hare, or perhaps , turning tail, like a scared dog. Confer
Cue ,
Queue ,
Caudal .]
1. (Her.) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs; -- said of a lion. 2. Destitute of courage; timid; cowardly. Fie, coward woman, and soft-hearted wretch.
Shak.
3. Belonging to a coward; proceeding from, or expressive of, base fear or timidity. He raised the house with loud and coward cries.
Shak.
Invading fears repel my coward joy.
Proir.
Coward Cow"ard noun A person who lacks courage; a timid or pusillanimous person; a poltroon. A fool is nauseous, but a coward worse.
Dryden.
Syn. -- Craven; poltroon; dastard.
Coward Cow"ard transitive verb To make timorous; to frighten. [ Obsolete]
That which cowardeth a man's heart.
Foxe.
Cowardice Cow"ard·ice (-ĭs)
noun [ French
couardise , from
couard . See
Coward .]
Want of courage to face danger; extreme timidity; pusillanimity; base fear of danger or hurt; lack of spirit. The cowardice of doing wrong.
Milton.
Moderation was despised as cowardice .
Macaulay.
Cowardie Cow"ard·ie (kou"ẽrd*ȳ)
noun [ Old French
couardie .]
Cowardice. [ Obsolete]
Cowardish Cow"ard·ish adjective Cowardly. [ Obsolete] "A base and a
cowardish mind."
Robynson (More's Utopia).
Cowardize Cow"ard·ize (-...z)
transitive verb To render cowardly . [ Obsolete]
God . . . cowardizeth . . . insolent spirits.
Bp. Hall.
Cowardliness Cow"ard·li·ness noun Cowardice.
Cowardly Cow"ard·ly adjective 1. Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful; pusillanimous; spiritless. The cowardly rascals that ran from the battle.
Shak.
2. Proceeding from fear of danger or other consequences; befitting a coward; dastardly; base; as, cowardly malignity. Macaulay. The cowardly rashness of those who dare not look danger in the face.
Burke.
Syn. -- Timid; fearful; timorous; dastardly; pusillanimous; recreant; craven; faint-hearted; chicken-hearted; white-livered.
Cowardly Cow"ard·ly adverb In the manner of a coward. Spenser.
Cowardship Cow"ard·ship noun Cowardice. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Cowbane Cow"bane` (kou"bān`)
noun (Botany) A poisonous umbelliferous plant; in England, the Cicuta virosa ; in the United States, the Cicuta maculata and the Archemora rigida . See Water hemlock .
Cowberry Cow"ber`ry (-bĕr`rȳ)
noun ;
plural Cowberries (- rĭz).
(Botany) A species of Vaccinium ( V. Vitis-idæa ), which bears acid red berries which are sometimes used in cookery; -- locally called mountain cranberry .