I. ˈvāl, chiefly before pause or consonant -āəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English veile, from Old North French, from Latin vela, plural of velum cloth, covering, curtain, veil
1.
a.
(1) : a length of cloth worn by women from ancient times as a covering for the head and shoulders and often used also in eastern countries to conceal the face especially of a married woman
Jewish women wore veils … in token of reverence and submission — Mary B. Eddy
specifically : the outer covering of a nun's headdress
(2) : the cloistered life of a nun
make a choice between the world and the veil — Sir Walter Scott
b. : a length of veiling or netting worn over the head or face or attached for protection or ornament to a hat or headdress
bridal veil
tiny black velvet hat has a visor veil ending at the temples — Women's Wear Daily
2.
a.
(1) : a hanging used to curtain off a sacred enclosure
veil of the sanctuary
(2) : the limit of sense perception dividing the living from the dead
when you and I behind the veil are past — Edward FitzGerald
(3) : a hidden sanctuary ; especially : the mysterious realm of the dead
passed on within the veil — A.J.Ross
b. : a liturgical cloth used to cover or shroud a religious object (as a crucifix or chalice) especially during Lent : pall
c. : humeral veil
3.
a. : a deceptive appearance or masking layer : cloak , cover
expressing daring criticism under the veil of … buffoonery — R.A.Hall b. 1911
against the first veils of twilight the flashing of the guns was faintly … orange — Eric Linklater
tear away the veil of mystery that shrouds human sleep — Webb Garrison
b. : a curtain of silence or reticence
the few sketches of his career draw a veil over the nature of his pranks — Lindsay Rogers
the first lifting of the veil on the privacy of … royalty — Sheila O'Callaghan
c. : a slight obscuration of the voice in singing (as from a peculiarity of the larynx or a natural huskiness)
sang … handsomely, though her voice has a veil on it — Virgil Thomson
d. : a slight darkening of the lighter portions of a photographic image and the unexposed areas usually due to chemical fog and resulting in loss of contrast
4.
a.
(1) : partial veil
(2) : universal veil
b. : calyptra 1
c. : velum
d. : a part of the amnion sometimes covering the face of a newborn child : caul
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English veilen, from veile veil
transitive verb
1.
a. : to conceal or curtain off with or as if with a veil : hide , obscure
lace appliqués … veiled by nylon tulle — Women's Wear Daily
evasiveness … veiled her face — Marcia Davenport
rain and mist often veiled the passage — Elsie M. B. Grosvenor
veils his toughness with soft speech — Newsweek
b. : to withhold from public knowledge
profound secrecy veiled this undertaking — C.F.Cochran
2. archaic : to admit into membership in a convent
she has surely been sainted if veiled — Thomas Fuller
intransitive verb
: to put on or wear a veil : become veiled
many eastern women veil in the presence of men
his ice-clear eye gradually veiled … his powers slipped — Time