covert

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French covert, past participle of covrir (“to cover”) (corresponding to Latin coopertus); cognate to cover.

Pronunciation

• Adjective:
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvət/, /ˈkəʊvəːt/
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkoʊvəɹt/, /koʊˈvɜɹt/, /ˈkʌvəɹt/
• Noun:
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvət/, /ˈkəʊvəːt/, /ˈkʌvə/
  • IPA^(key): /ˈkʌvəɹt/, /ˈkoʊvəɹt/, /ˈkʌvəɹ/

Adjective

covert (comparative more covert, superlative most covert)

1. (now rare) Hidden, covered over; overgrown, sheltered.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.5:

     Within that wood there was a covert glade, / Foreby a narrow foord, to them well knowne […]

   • (Can we date this quote by Francis Bacon and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     to plant a covert alley

2. (figuratively) Secret, surreptitious, concealed.
   • (Can we date this quote by William Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     how covert matters may be best disclosed

   • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     whether of open war or covert guile

   • 2013 July 26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26:

     The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives. […] who, if anyone, is policing their use[?] Such concerns were sharpened further by the continuing revelations about how the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using algorithms to help it interpret the colossal amounts of data it has collected from its covert dragnet of international telecommunications.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:covert
• feme covert

Antonyms

• overt

Derived terms

• covert stuttering

Related terms

• cover

Translations

secret

• Bulgarian: скрит (bg) (skrit), прикрит (bg) (prikrit), потаен (bg) (potaen)
• German: verdeckt (de)
• Maori: munamuna, whakamokamoka, whakamomoka, whakamokeke, whakahewa
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: секре́тный (ru) (sekrétnyj), скры́тый (ru) (skrýtyj), та́йный (ru) (tájnyj), (e.g. door, tunnel) потайно́й (ru) (potajnój)
• Spanish: encubierto (es)
• Swedish: hemlig (sv), förtäckt (sv), dold (sv)

Noun

covert (plural coverts)

1. A covering.
2. A disguise.
3. A hiding place.
4. Area of thick undergrowth where animals hide.
5. (ornithology) A feather that covers the bases of flight feathers.

Translations

covering — see covering

disguise — see disguise

hiding place

• Finnish: piilopaikka (fi), piilo (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

area of thick undergrowth for hiding

• Bulgarian: гъсталак (bg) m (gǎstalak)
• Finnish: suojakasvillisuus
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Manx: aaght m

type of feather

• Finnish: peitinhöyhen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Anagrams

• corvet, vector

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkavɐt/

Verb

covert

1. (deprecated template usage) Third-person singular present of covern.
2. (deprecated template usage) Second-person plural present of covern.
3. (deprecated template usage) Second-person plural subjunctive I of covern.
4. (deprecated template usage) Imperative plural of covern.

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Old French

Alternative forms

• cuvert
• covri

Etymology

From Latin coopertus.

Verb

covert

1. past participle of covrir

Descendants

• English: covert
• French: couvert