/ ʃraʊd; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
1.
a piece of cloth that a dead person's body is wrapped in before it is buried
2.
shroud of sth ( literary ) a thing that covers, surrounds or hides sth :
The organization is cloaked in a shroud of secrecy.
a shroud of smoke
■ verb [ vn ] [ usually passive ] shroud sth in sth
1.
( of darkness , clouds, cloth, etc. ) to cover or hide sth :
The city was shrouded in mist.
2.
to hide information or keep it secret and mysterious :
His family background is shrouded in mystery .
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WORD ORIGIN
late Old English scrūd garment, clothing , of Germanic origin, from a base meaning cut; related to shred . An early sense of the verb ( Middle English ) was cover so as to protect .