- Veil
- Veil Veil (v[=a]l), n. [OE. veile, OF. veile, F. voile, L.
velum a sail, covering, curtain, veil, probably fr. vehere to
bear, carry, and thus originally, that which bears the ship
on. See {Vehicle}, and cf. {Reveal}.] [Written also {vail}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Something hung up, or spread out, to intercept the view,
and hide an object; a cover; a curtain; esp., a screen,
usually of gauze, crape, or similar diaphnous material, to
hide or protect the face.
[1913 Webster]
The veil of the temple was rent in twain. --Matt. xxvii. 51. [1913 Webster]
She, as a veil down to the slender waist, Her unadorn['e]d golden tresses wore. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense. [1913 Webster]
[I will] pluck the borrowed veil of modesty from the so seeming Mistress Page. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. (Bot.) (a) The calyptra of mosses. (b) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; -- called also {velum}. [1913 Webster]
4. (Eccl.) A covering for a person or thing; as, a nun's veil; a paten veil; an altar veil. [1913 Webster]
5. (Zo["o]l.) Same as {Velum}, 3. [1913 Webster]
{To take the veil} (Eccl.), to receive or be covered with, a veil, as a nun, in token of retirement from the world; to become a nun. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
