n. [ F. alcôve, Sp. or Pg. alcoba, from Ar. al-quobbah arch, vault, tent. ] 1. (Arch.) A recessed portion of a room, or a small room opening into a larger one; especially, a recess to contain a bed; a lateral recess in a library. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small ornamental building with seats, or an arched seat, in a pleasure ground; a garden bower. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any natural recess analogous to an alcove or recess in an apartment. [ 1913 Webster ]

The youthful wanderers found a wild alcove. Falconer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. cofa room; akin to G. koben pigsty, orig., hut, Icel. kofi hut, and perh. to E. cobalt. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A retired nook; especially, a small, sheltered inlet, creek, or bay; a recess in the shore. [ 1913 Webster ]

Vessels which were in readiness for him within secret coves and nooks. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A strip of prairie extending into woodland; also, a recess in the side of a mountain. [ U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Arch.) (a) A concave molding. (b) A member, whose section is a concave curve, used especially with regard to an inner roof or ceiling, as around a skylight. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Coved p. pr. & vb. n. Coving. ] (Arch.) To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs. H. Swinburne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coved ceiling, a ceiling, the part of which next the wail is constructed in a cove. --
Coved vault, a vault composed of four coves meeting in a central point, and therefore the reverse of a groined vault. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ CF. F. couver, It. covare. See Covey. ] To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Not being able to cove or sit upon them [ eggs ], she [ the female tortoise ] bestoweth them in the gravel. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ A gypsy word, covo that man, covi that woman. ] A boy or man of any age or station. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There's a gentry cove here. Wit's Recreations (1654). [ 1913 Webster ]

Now, look to it, coves, that all the beef and drink
Be not filched from us. Mrs. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ After Covelli, the discoverer. ] (Min.) A native sulphide of copper, occuring in masses of a dark blue color; -- hence called indigo copper. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. covenable, F. convenable. See Covenant. ] Fit; proper; suitable. [ Obs. ] “A covenable day.” Wyclif (Mark vi. 21). [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Fitly; suitably. [ Obs. ] “Well and covenably.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. covenant, fr. F. & OF. convenir to agree, L. convenire. See Convene. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A mutual agreement of two or more persons or parties, or one of the stipulations in such an agreement. [ 1913 Webster ]

Then Jonathan and David made a covenant. 1 Sam. xviiii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let there be covenants drawn between us. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

If we conclude a peace,
It shall be with such strict and severe covenants
As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl. Hist.) An agreement made by the Scottish Parliament in 1638, and by the English Parliament in 1643, to preserve the reformed religion in Scotland, and to extirpate popery and prelacy; -- usually called the “Solemn League and Covenant.” [ 1913 Webster ]

He [ Wharton ] was born in the days of the Covenant, and was the heir of a covenanted house. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Theol.) The promises of God as revealed in the Scriptures, conditioned on certain terms on the part of man, as obedience, repentance, faith, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. Gen. xvii. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A solemn compact between members of a church to maintain its faith, discipline, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Law) (a) An undertaking, on sufficient consideration, in writing and under seal, to do or to refrain from some act or thing; a contract; a stipulation; also, the document or writing containing the terms of agreement. (b) A form of action for the violation of a promise or contract under seal.

Syn. -- Agreement; contract; compact; bargain; arrangement; stipulation. -- Covenant, Contract, Compact, Stipulation. These words all denote a mutual agreement between two parties. Covenant is frequently used in a religious sense; as, the covenant of works or of grace; a church covenant; the Solemn League and Covenant. Contract is the word most used in the business of life. Crabb and Taylor are wrong in saying that a contract must always be in writing. There are oral and implied contracts as well as written ones, and these are equally enforced by law. In legal usage, the word covenant has an important place as connected with contracts. A compact is only a stronger and more solemn contract. The term is chiefly applied to political alliances. Thus, the old Confederation was a compact between the States. Under the present Federal Constitution, no individual State can, without consent of Congress, enter into a compact with any other State or foreign power. A stipulation is one of the articles or provisions of a contract. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Covenanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Covenanting. ] To agree (with); to enter into a formal agreement; to bind one's self by contract; to make a stipulation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Jupiter covenanted with him, that it should be hot or cold, wet or dry, . . . as the tenant should direct. L'Estrange. [ 1913 Webster ]

And they covenanted with him for thyrty pieces of silver. Matt. xxvi. 15.

Syn. -- To agree; contract; bargain; stipulate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To grant or promise by covenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

My covenant of peace that I covenanted with you. Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Law) The person in whose favor a covenant is made. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who makes a covenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl. Hist.) One who subscribed and defended the “Solemn League and Covenant.” See Covenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Belonging to a covenant. Specifically, belonging to the Scotch Covenanters. [ 1913 Webster ]

Be they covenanting traitors,
Or the brood of false Argyle? Aytoun. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Law) The party who makes a covenant. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Covinous, and Covin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. covent, F. couvent. See Convent. ] A convent or monastery. [ Obs. ] Bale. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covent Garden, a large square in London, so called because originally it was the garden of a monastery. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A town in the county of Warwick, England. [ 1913 Webster ]

To send to Coventry, to exclude from society; to shut out from social intercourse, as for ungentlemanly conduct. --
Coventry blue, blue thread of a superior dye, made at Coventry, England, and used for embroidery. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. t. [ imp. & p. p. Covered; p. pr. & vb. n. Coveting. ] [ OF. coveitier, covoitier, F. convoiter, from a derivative fr. L. cupere to desire; cf. Skr. kup to become excited. Cf. Cupidity. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To wish for with eagerness; to desire possession of; -- used in a good sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covet earnestly the best gifts. 1. Cor. xxii. 31. [ 1913 Webster ]

If it be a sin to covet honor,
I am the most offending soul alive. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To long for inordinately or unlawfully; to hanker after (something forbidden). [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Ex. xx. 17.

Syn. -- To long for; desire; hanker after; crave. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To have or indulge inordinate desire. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which [ money ] while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith. 1 Tim. vi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. That may be coveted; desirable. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who covets. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. coveitise, F. convoitise. See Covet, v. t. ] Avarice. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Phren.) Acquisitiveness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. coveitos, F. convoiteux. See Covet, v. t. ] 1. Very desirous; eager to obtain; -- used in a good sense. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetous of wisdom and fair virtue. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetous death bereaved us all,
To aggrandize one funeral. Emerson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inordinately desirous; excessively eager to obtain and possess (esp. money); avaricious; -- in a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a covetous manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Strong desire. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When workmen strive to do better than well,
They do confound their skill in covetousness. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; excessive desire for riches or money; -- in a bad sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Covetousness, by a greed of getting more, deprivess itself of the true end of getting. Sprat.

Syn. -- Avarice; cupidity; eagerness. [ 1913 Webster ]