veil
noun 1 a piece of fine material worn to protect or conceal the face. 2 a piece of fabric forming part of a nuns headdress, resting on the head and shoulders. 3 a thing that conceals, disguises, or obscures. verb 1 cover with or as if with a veil. 2 veiled partially concealed, disguised, or obscured. PHRASES draw a veil over avoid discussing or calling attention to (something embarrassing or unpleasant). take the veil become a nun. ORIGIN Latin velum sail, curtain, veil.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
|