5  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Veil  \Veil\  (v[=a]l),  n.  [OE.  veile,  OF  veile,  F.  voile,  L. 
  velum  a  sail,  covering,  curtain,  veil,  probably  fr  vehere  to 
  bear,  carry,  and  thus  originally,  that  which  bears  the  ship 
  on  See  {Vehicle},  and  cf  {Reveal}.]  [Written  also  {vail}.] 
  1.  Something  hung  up  or  spread  out  to  intercept  the  view, 
  and  hide  an  object;  a  cover;  a  curtain;  esp.,  a  screen, 
  usually  of  gauze,  crape,  or  similar  diaphnous  material,  to 
  hide  or  protect  the  face. 
 
  The  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent  in  twain.  --Matt. 
  xxvii.  51. 
 
  She  as  a  veil  down  to  the  slender  waist,  Her 
  unadorn['e]d  golden  tresses  wore.  --Milton. 
 
  2.  A  cover;  disguise;  a  mask;  a  pretense. 
 
  [I  will]  pluck  the  borrowed  veil  of  modesty  from  the 
  so  seeming  Mistress  Page.  --Shak. 
 
  3.  (Bot.) 
  a  The  calyptra  of  mosses. 
  b  A  membrane  connecting  the  margin  of  the  pileus  of  a 
  mushroom  with  the  stalk;  --  called  also  {velum}. 
 
  4.  (Eccl.)  A  covering  for  a  person  or  thing  as  a  nun's 
  veil;  a  paten  veil;  an  altar  veil. 
 
  5.  (Zo["o]l.)  Same  as  {Velum},  3. 
 
  {To  take  the  veil}  (Eccl.),  to  receive  or  be  covered  with  a 
  veil,  as  a  nun,  in  token  of  retirement  from  the  world;  to 
  become  a  nun. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Veil  \Veil\,  v.  t.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Veiled};  p.  pr  &  vb  n. 
  {Veiling}.]  [Cf.  OF  veler,  F.  voiler,  L.  velarc.  See  {Veil}, 
  n.]  [Written  also  {vail}.] 
  1.  To  throw  a  veil  over  to  cover  with  a  veil. 
 
  Her  face  was  veiled;  yet  to  my  fancied  sight,  Love, 
  sweetness,  goodness,  in  her  person  shined.  --Milton. 
 
  2.  Fig.:  To  invest;  to  cover;  to  hide;  to  conceal. 
 
  To  keep  your  great  pretenses  veiled.  --Shak. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Vail  \Vail\,  v.  t.  [Aphetic  form  of  avale.  See  {Avale},  {Vale}.] 
  [Written  also  {vale},  and  {veil}.] 
  1.  To  let  fail  to  allow  or  cause  to  sink.  [Obs.] 
 
  Vail  your  regard  Upon  a  wronged,  I  would  fain  have 
  said  a  maid!  --Shak. 
 
  2.  To  lower,  or  take  off  in  token  of  inferiority,  reverence, 
  submission,  or  the  like 
 
  France  must  vail  her  lofty-plumed  crest!  --Shak. 
 
  Without  vailing  his  bonnet  or  testifying  any 
  reverence  for  the  alleged  sanctity  of  the  relic. 
  --Sir.  W. 
  Scott. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Vail  \Vail\,  v.  i. 
  To  yield  or  recede;  to  give  place  to  show  respect  by 
  yielding,  uncovering,  or  the  like  [Written  also  {vale},  and 
  {veil}.]  [Obs.] 
 
  Thy  convenience  must  vail  to  thy  neighbor's  necessity. 
  --South. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  veil 
  n  1:  a  garment  that  covers  the  head  and  face  [syn:  {head  covering}] 
  2:  the  inner  embryonic  membrane  of  higher  vertebrates 
  (especially  when  covering  the  head  at  birth)  [syn:  {caul}, 
  {fetal  membrane},  {embryonic  membrane}] 
  3:  Roman  Catholic  Church;  a  silk  shawl  [syn:  {humeral  veil}] 
  v  :  to  obscure,  or  conceal  with  or  as  if  with  a  veil;  "a 
  conspiracy  of  silence  veiling  it"  [ant:  {unveil}] 

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