v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Covered p. pr. & vb. n. Covering. ] [ OF. covrir, F. couvrir, fr. L. cooperire; co- + operire to cover; probably fr. ob towards, over + the root appearing in aperire to open. Cf. Aperient, Overt, Curfew. ] 1. To overspread the surface of (one thing) with another; as, to cover wood with paint or lacquer; to cover a table with a cloth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To envelop; to clothe, as with a mantle or cloak. [ 1913 Webster ]

And with the majesty of darkness round
Covers his throne. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

All that beauty than doth cover thee. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To invest (one's self with something); to bring upon (one's self); as, he covered himself with glory. [ 1913 Webster ]

The powers that covered themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland. Brougham. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To hide sight; to conceal; to cloak; as, the enemy were covered from our sight by the woods. [ 1913 Webster ]

A cloud covered the mount. Exod. xxiv. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

In vain shou striv'st to cover shame with shame. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To brood or sit on; to incubate. [ 1913 Webster ]

While the hen is covering her eggs, the male . . . diverts her with his songs. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To overwhelm; to spread over. [ 1913 Webster ]

The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen. Ex. xiv. 28. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To shelter, as from evil or danger; to protect; to defend; as, the cavalry covered the retreat. [ 1913 Webster ]

His calm and blameless life
Does with substantial blessedness abound,
And the soft wings of peace cover him round. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To remove from remembrance; to put away; to remit. “Blessed is he whose is covered.” Ps. xxxii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To extend over; to be sufficient for; to comprehend, include, or embrace; to account for or solve; to counterbalance; as, a mortgage which fully covers a sum loaned on it; a law which covers all possible cases of a crime; receipts than do not cover expenses. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To put the usual covering or headdress on. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cover thy head . . . ; nay, prithee, be covered. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. To copulate with (a female); to serve; as, a horse covers a mare; -- said of the male. [ 1913 Webster ]

To cover ground or
To cover distance, to pass over; as, the rider covered the ground in an hour. --
To cover one's short contracts (Stock Exchange), to buy stock when the market rises, as a dealer who has sold short does in order to protect himself. --
Covering party (Mil.), a detachment of troops sent for the protection of another detachment, as of men working in the trenches. --
To cover into, to transfer to; as, to cover into the treasury.

Syn. -- To shelter; screen; shield; hide; overspread. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Anything which is laid, set, or spread, upon, about, or over, another thing; an envelope; a lid; as, the cover of a book. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything which veils or conceals; a screen; disguise; a cloak. “Under cover of the night.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

A handsome cover for imperfections. Collier. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Shelter; protection; as, the troops fought under cover of the batteries; the woods afforded a good cover. [ 1913 Webster ]

Being compelled to lodge in the field . . . whilst his army was under cover, they might be forced to retire. Clarendon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Hunting) The woods, underbrush, etc., which shelter and conceal game; covert; as, to beat a cover; to ride to cover. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. That portion of a slate, tile, or shingle, which is hidden by the overlap of the course above. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Steam Engine) The lap of a slide valve. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. [ Cf. F. couvert. ] A tablecloth, and the other table furniture; esp., the table furniture for the use of one person at a meal; as, covers were laid for fifty guests. [ 1913 Webster ]

To break cover, to start from a covert or lair; -- said of game. --
Under cover, in an envelope, or within a letter; -- said of a written message. [ 1913 Webster ]

Letters . . . dispatched under cover to her ladyship. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To spread a table for a meal; to prepare a banquet. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the range of items covered. Coverage may be small (narrow coverage }, or large (broad coverage or wide coverage). [ PJC ]

2. The aggregate of risks covered by the terms of a contract of insurance. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. the state of being insured; insurance. [ PJC ]

4. the areas reached by a radio transmission signal, or group of people reached by a communications medium, such as television or a newspaper. [ PJC ]

5. the range of topics treated in a discourse or document, or the depth to which a subject is discussed; as, a news program may have extensive coverage of an event. “gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Democratic convention.” [ PJC ]

6. the news as presented by reporters for newspapers or radio of television; as, they accused the paper of biased coverage of race relations.
Syn. -- reporting, reportage. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a loose-fitting one-piece garment that is worn over other clothing, especially one with trouser-like pants legs. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ See Kerchief. ] A covering for the head. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. covercle, F. couvercle, fr. L. cooperculum fr. cooperire. See cover ] A small cover; a lid. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A catch crop planted, esp. in orchards. as a protection to the soil in winter, as well as for the benefit of the soil when plowed under in spring. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Under cover; screened; sheltered; not exposed; hidden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covered way (Fort.), a corridor or banquette along the top of the counterscarp and covered by an embankment whose slope forms the glacis. It gives the garrison an open line of communication around the works, and a standing place beyond the ditch. See Illust. of Ravelin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, covers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Anything which covers or conceals, as a roof, a screen, a wrapper, clothing, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Noah removed the covering of the ark. Gen. viii. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

They cause the naked to lodge without clothing, that they have no covering in the cold. Job. xxiv. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

A covering over the well's mouth. 2 Sam. xvii. 19. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. couvre-lit; couvrir to cover + lit bed, fr. L. lectus bed. See Cover. ] The uppermost cover of a bed or of any piece of furniture. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lay her in lilies and in violets . . .
And odored sheets and arras coverlets. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A coverlet. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the coverlid was cloth of gold. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The fielder in the games of cricket and lacrosse who supports “point.” [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Co- (=co- in co- sine) + versed sine. ] (Geom.) The versed sine of the complement of an arc or angle. See Illust. of Functions. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something used to conceal infamy. [ Obs. ] Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A region of country having covers; a hunting country. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ OF. covert, F. couvert, p. p. of couvrir. See Cover, v. t. ] 1. Covered over; private; hid; secret; disguised. [ 1913 Webster ]

How covert matters may be best disclosed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whether of open war or covert guile. Milton [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Sheltered; not open or exposed; retired; protected; as, a covert nook. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of either side the green, to plant a covert alley. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covert way, (Fort.) See Covered way, under Covered.

Syn. -- Hidden; secret; private; covered; disguised; insidious; concealed. See Hidden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. See Covert, a. ] 1. A place that covers and protects; a shelter; a defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

A tabernacle . . . for a covert from storm. Is. iv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

The highwayman has darted from his covered by the wayside. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ Cf. F. couverte. ] (Zool.) One of the special feathers covering the bases of the quills of the wings and tail of a bird. See Illust. of Bird. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Law) Under the protection of a husband; married. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Secretly; in private; insidiously. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Secrecy; privacy. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. coverture, F.couverture. ] 1. Covering; shelter; defense; hiding. [ 1913 Webster ]

Protected by walls or other like coverture. Woodward. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beatrice, who even now
Is couched in the woodbine coverture. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To discover or show one's self. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This done, they discover. Decker. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor was this the first time that they discovered to be followers of this world. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Discovered p. pr. & vb. n. Discovering. ] [ OE. discoveren, discuren, descuren, OF. descovrir, descouvrir, F. découvrir; des- (L. dis-) + couvrir to cover. See Cover. ] 1. To uncover. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Whether any man hath pulled down or discovered any church. Abp. Grindal. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To disclose; to lay open to view; to make visible; to reveal; to make known; to show (what has been secret, unseen, or unknown). [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Go, draw aside the curtains, and discover
The several caskets to this noble prince. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Prosperity doth best discover vice; but adversity doth best discover virtue. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

We will discover ourselves unto them. 1 Sam. xiv. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

Discover not a secret to another. Prov. xxv. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of, as of a thing existing already, but not perceived or known; to find; to ascertain; to espy; to detect. [ wns=1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Some to discover islands far away. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To manifest without design; to show. [ 1913 Webster ]

The youth discovered a taste for sculpture. C. J. Smith. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To explore; to examine. [ Obs. ]

Syn. -- To disclose; bring out; exhibit; show; manifest; reveal; communicate; impart; tell; espy; find; out; detect. -- To Discover, Invent. We discover what existed before, but remained unknown; we invent by forming combinations which are either entirely new, or which attain their end by means unknown before. Columbus discovered America; Newton discovered the law of gravitation; Whitney invented the cotton gin; Galileo invented the telescope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being discoverable. [ R. ] Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being discovered, found out, or perceived; as, many minute animals are discoverable only by the help of the microscope; truths discoverable by human industry. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who discovers; one who first comes to the knowledge of something; one who discovers an unknown country, or a new principle, truth, or fact. [ 1913 Webster ]

The discoverers and searchers of the land. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A scout; an explorer. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Discovery. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. découvert uncovered, OF. descovert. See Discover, Covert. ] (Law) Not covert; not within the bonds of matrimony; unmarried; -- applied either to a woman who has never married or to a widow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An uncovered place or part. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

At discovert, uncovered. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Pref. dis- + coverture: cf. OF. descoverture. ] 1. Discovery. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) A state of being released from coverture; freedom of a woman from the coverture of a husband. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Discoveries 1. The action of discovering; exposure to view; laying open; showing; as, the discovery of a plot. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A making known; revelation; disclosure; as, a bankrupt is bound to make a full discovery of his assets. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the clear discoveries of the next [ world ]. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Finding out or ascertaining something previously unknown or unrecognized; as, Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood. [ 1913 Webster ]

A brilliant career of discovery and conquest. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

We speak of the “invention” of printing, the discovery of America. Trench. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. That which is discovered; a thing found out, or for the first time ascertained or recognized; as, the properties of the magnet were an important discovery. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Exploration; examination. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

. same as Columbus Day, above. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. a covering for the floor of an automobile.
Syn. -- floor covering. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. low-growing plants planted in deep shade or on a steep slope where turf is difficult to grow. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. small plants other than saplings growing on a forest floor.
Syn. -- ground cover, undergrowth. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. Having rigid front and back covers, usually boards covered with paper, cloth, or leather; -- of books. Contrasted with softcover and paperback. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. & a. Same as hardback n. and a.
Syn. -- hardback. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Not discoverable; undiscoverable. J. Conybeare. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of discovery. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Not capable of being recovered, regained, or remedied; irreparable; as, an irrecoverable loss, debt, or injury. [ 1913 Webster ]

That which is past is gone and irrecoverable. Bacon.

Syn. -- Irreparable; irretrievable; irremediable; unalterable; incurable; hopeless.

-- Ir`re*cov"er*a*ble*ness, n. -- Ir`re*cov"er*a*bly, adv. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Want or failure of discovery. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cover up. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To discover beforehand. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A previous discovery. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Pref. re- + cover: cf. F. recouvrir. ] To cover again. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Recovered p. pr. & vb. n. Recovering. ] [ OE. recoveren, OF. recovrer, F. recouvrer, from L. recuperare; pref. re- re + a word of unknown origin. Cf.Recuperate. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To get or obtain again; to get renewed possession of; to win back; to regain. [ 1913 Webster ]

David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away. 1. Sam. xxx. 18. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make good by reparation; to make up for; to retrieve; to repair the loss or injury of; as, to recover lost time. “Loss of catel may recovered be.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Even good men have many failings and lapses to lament and recover. Rogers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To restore from sickness, faintness, or the like; to bring back to life or health; to cure; to heal. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wine in my bottle will recover him. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To overcome; to get the better of, -- as a state of mind or body. [ 1913 Webster ]

I do hope to recover my late hurt. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

When I had recovered a little my first surprise. De Foe. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To rescue; to deliver. [ 1913 Webster ]

That they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him. 2. Tim. ii. 26. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To gain by motion or effort; to obtain; to reach; to come to. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The forest is not three leagues off;
If we recover that, we're sure enough. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Except he could recover one of the Cities of Refuge he was to die. Hales. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Law) To gain as a compensation; to obtain in return for injury or debt; as, to recover damages in trespass; to recover debt and costs in a suit at law; to obtain title to by judgement in a court of law; as, to recover lands in ejectment or common recovery; to gain by legal process; as, to recover judgement against a defendant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Recover arms (Mil. Drill), a command whereby the piece is brought from the position of “aim” to that of “ready.” [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To regain; repossess; resume; retrieve; recruit; heal; cure. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To regain health after sickness; to grow well; to be restored or cured; hence, to regain a former state or condition after misfortune, alarm, etc.; -- often followed by of or from; as, to recover from a state of poverty; to recover from fright. [ 1913 Webster ]

Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease. 2 Kings i. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make one's way; to come; to arrive. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

With much ado the Christians recovered to Antioch. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) To obtain a judgement; to succeed in a lawsuit; as, the plaintiff has recovered in his suit. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Recovery. Sir T. Malory. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. recouvrable. ] Capable of being recovered or regained; capable of being brought back to a former condition, as from sickness, misfortune, etc.; obtainable from a debtor or possessor; as, the debt is recoverable; goods lost or sunk in the ocean are not recoverable. [ 1913 Webster ]

A prodigal course
Is like the sun's; but not, like his, recoverable. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

If I am recoverable, why am I thus? Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Re*cov"er*a*ble*ness, n. [1913 Webster]