cove

See also: Cove

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: kōv
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /koʊv/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəʊv/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊv
• Homophone: Cobh

Etymology 1

Coved vault ceiling, Alhambra (Spain)

Cadgwith cove, Cornwall (United Kingdom)

From Middle English cove, from Old English cofa (“chamber; den”), from Proto-Germanic *kubô. Cognate with German Koben, Swedish kofva. This word has probably survived as long as it has due to its coincidental phonetic resemblence to the unrelated word "cave".

Noun

cove (plural coves)

1. (now uncommon) A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. [from 9th c.]
2. (architecture) A concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling. [from 16th c.]
3. A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds. [from 16th c.]
   • (Can we date this quote by Holland and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     vessels which were in readiness for him within secret coves and nooks

4. (US) A strip of prairie extending into woodland.
5. A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain. [from 19th c.]
6. (nautical) The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship. [from 19th c.]
7. (nautical) A thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht's strake below deck level. [from 19th c.]

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Translations

rare: hollow in a rock

• French: grotte (fr) f, caverne (fr) f
• Greek: σπήλαιο (el) (spílaio)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: grotă (ro) f

architecture: concave vault

• Bulgarian: свод m (svod)
• French: arcade (fr) f, voûte (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: θόλος (el) m (thólos)

small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds

• Bulgarian: заливче (bg) n (zalivče)
• Catalan: cala (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小海湾

• Dutch: baai (nl) c
• Finnish: poukama (fi), lahti (fi)
• French: crique (fr) f
• German: Bucht (de) f
• Greek: όρμος (el) (órmos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: öböl (hu)
• Italian: calanca (it) f
• Japanese: 入り江 (irie)
• Maori: kokoru, kokori, matatikerewhanga
• Occitan: calanca (oc) f
• Portuguese: enseada (pt)
• Romanian: golf (ro)
• Russian: бу́хточка (ru) f (búxtočka) (среди скал)
• Spanish: ensenada (es)

recess on slope of mountain

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht’s strake below deck level

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

1. (architecture) To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove.
   • (Can we date this quote by H. Swinburne and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs.

Etymology 2

Britain ante-1570. From Romani kodo (“this one, him”), perhaps change in consonants due to lower class th-fronting, or Romani kova (“that person”).

Noun

cove (plural coves)

1. (British, dated, informal) A fellow; a man.
   • 2012, Terry Pratchett, Dodger, →ISBN, page 326:

     At one point, a friendly-looking sort of cove with silver hair and a grandfatherly kind of face beamed at him […]

2. (Australia and Polari) A friend; a mate.

Synonyms

• (man): See Thesaurus:man
• (friend): See Thesaurus:friend

Antonyms

• (man): covess, mort (specific antonyms)
• (man): See Thesaurus:woman (general antonyms)
• (friend): See Thesaurus:enemy

Derived terms

Terms derived from cove

• Abram cove
• autem cove
• badge-cove
• bang-up cove
• covess
• covey
• cross cove
• diddle cove

• dimber cove
• dookin cove
• downy cove
• flash cove
• flogging cove
• gentry cove
• kinchin cove
• narry cove

• nib cove
• nubbing cove
• queer cove
• rum cove
• smacking cove
• topping cove

Translations

fellow; man

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 小伙子 (zh) (xiǎohuǒzi)

• Dutch: kerel (nl) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: kaveri (fi), heppu (fi)
• Hebrew: מפרצון (he) m
• Hungarian: szerzet (slang), fazon (hu) (slang)

friend; mate

• Dutch: maat (nl) m
• Finnish: kaveri (fi), heppu (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: haver (hu)

Etymology 3

Compare French couver, Italian covare. See covey.

Verb

1. To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs.
   • (Can we date this quote by Holland and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Not being able to cove or sit upon them [eggs], she [the female tortoise] bestoweth them in the gravel.

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin cophinus, from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkɔ.βə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈkɔ.və]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [ˈkɔ.ve]

Noun

cove m (plural coves)

1. A large basket

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈko.ve/
• Hyphenation: có‧ve

Noun

cove f

1. plural of cova

Anagrams

• voce