cove

English Online Dictionary. What means cove‎? What does cove mean?

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) enPR: kōv IPA^(key): /koʊv/
• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: kōv IPA^(key): /kəʊv/
• Rhymes: -əʊv
• Homophone: Cobh

Etymology 1

From Middle English cove, from Old English cofa (“chamber; den”), from Proto-West Germanic *kobō, from Proto-Germanic *kubô. Cognate with German Koben, Swedish kova. This word has probably survived as long as it has due to its coincidental phonetic resemblance to the unrelated word English cave. Also unrelated to Spanish cueva, which itself is a cognate of cave.

Noun

cove (plural coves)

1. (now uncommon) A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern. [from 9th c.]
2. (architecture) A concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling. [from 16th c.]
3. A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds; bight. [from 16th c.]
4. (US) A strip of prairie extending into woodland.
5. A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain. [from 19th c.]
6. (nautical) The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship. [from 19th c.]
7. (nautical) A thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht's strake below deck level. [from 19th c.]
8. (Appalachia) A valley between two ridges, especially one that, opening to the south and east, is protected by ridges on the north and west from common winter storm tracks.

   Coordinate terms: hollow, draft

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

cove (third-person singular simple present coves, present participle coving, simple past and past participle coved)

1. (architecture) To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove.

Etymology 2

Britain ante-1570. From Romani kodo (“this one, him”), perhaps change in consonants due to lower class th-fronting, or Romani kova (“that person”).

Noun

cove (plural coves)

1. (British, dated, informal, thieves' cant, Lewis) A fellow; a man.
2. (Australia and Polari) A friend; a mate.

Synonyms

• (man): See Thesaurus:man
• (friend): See Thesaurus:friend

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “man”): covess, mort, blone (specific antonyms)
• (antonym(s) of “man”): See Thesaurus:woman (general antonyms)
• (antonym(s) of “friend”): See Thesaurus:enemy

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French couver and Old French cover (“to hatch (eggs)”), from Latin cubāre, the present active infinitive of cubō (“to lie down, recline; to incubate; to be broody”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (“to lie down”).

Verb

cove (third-person singular simple present coves, present participle coving, simple past and past participle coved)

1. (transitive, intransitive, obsolete) Of a bird or other animal: to brood, cover, incubate, or sit over (eggs).

   Synonym: covie

Alternative forms

• couve (obsolete)

References

Anagrams

• Voce

Catalan

Alternative forms

• covo (Northern, Mallorca, Menorca)

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cophinus, from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈkɔ.βə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈkɔ.və]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈkɔ.ve]

Noun

cove m (plural coves or còvens)

1. a large basket

Derived terms

• a coves
• covenada

Further reading

• “cove”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈko.ve/
• Rhymes: -ove
• Hyphenation: có‧ve

Noun

cove f

1. plural of cova

Anagrams

• voce