I. veil 1 /veɪl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: veile , from Latin vela , plural of velum 'sail, curtain, cloth, veil' ]
1 . a thin piece of material that women wear to cover their faces at formal occasions or for religious reasons:
She lifted her veil with both hands.
a bridal veil
2 . the veil the system in Islamic countries in which women must cover their hair and faces in public
3 . draw a veil over something formal to avoid talking about something that happened in the past because it is unpleasant or embarrassing:
I think it best to draw a veil over the whole incident.
4 . veil of secrecy/deceit/silence etc formal something that hides the truth about a situation:
Watson deserves credit for lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding Brenda’s death.
His pornography was covered by a veil of respectability.
5 . veil of mist/cloud/smoke etc a thin layer of mist, cloud etc that makes it difficult to see clearly:
The moon was hidden behind a veil of clouds.
6 . take the veil old-fashioned to become a ↑ nun
II. veil 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . be veiled in mystery/secrecy etc formal if something is veiled in mystery etc, people do not know the truth about it so it seems strange or mysterious:
The details of the evacuation are veiled in secrecy.
2 . to cover something with a veil:
A black kerchief modestly veiled her hair.
3 . literary to partly hide something so that it cannot be seen clearly:
A fine rain was beginning to veil the hills.