| 释义 |
▪ I. covert, a. (pa. pple.)|ˈkʌvət|
Forms: 4–7 couert(e, 5 couuerte, 6 couvert, 4– covert.
[a. OF. covert, later couvert:—L. coopertum, pa. pple. of covrir, couvrir:—L. cooperīre to cover.]
1. lit. Covered, hidden; roofed over; overgrown; sheltered. Now rare.
1393Gower Conf. I. 227 For gladly wolde I..holde me covert alway. c1489Caxton Blanch. v. (1890) 22 Blanchardyn..holdynge the couert wayes, because..he shold not be folowed or ouer taken. 1609Bible (Douay) Ezek. iv. comm., Covert passage about seven foot in height. 1625Bacon Ess. Gardens (Arb.) 559 You are..to Plant a Couert Alley, vpon Carpenters Worke..by which you may goe in Shade. 1707J. Mortimer Husb. (J.), The fox is..very prejudicial to the husbandman, especially..near forest-woods and covert places. 1814Wordsw. Excursion iii. 177 This covert nook reports not of his hand. 1883Stevenson Silverado Sq. 40 All is green, solitary, covert.
†b. Fortif. covert way: = covered way.
1591Garrard Art Warre 311 The way which is made in the counterscarpe which is commonly called the covert-way. 1688J. S. Fortification 27 The Covert or close way..left above the Moat next the open Field. 1801Wellington in Gurw. Desp. I. 361 Turning them by the covert way.
†c. transf. and fig.
1713Steele Spect. No. 423 ⁋4 This Covert-way of Courtship. 1774Fletcher Hist. Ess. Wks. 1795 IV. 11 The covert way of Pharisaism. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 401 The beaver has a covert way bored under the ice.
2. fig. Concealed, hidden, secret; disguised.
c1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 389 Ȝyf hyt be shewede here apert, Yn ouþer stede hyt ys couert. a1400Robbery in Rel. Ant. II. 38 A covert thefte dos he in case. 1574tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 50 The couert thoughts and delights of the minde. 1641Termes de la Ley 73 b, Condition implyed, or covert and not expressed, which is called a condition in Law. 1791Cowper Iliad i. 187 Wage covert war or open? 1828D'Israeli Chas. I, I. v. 117 It was a covert attempt on the French side to disguise Catholic emancipation. 1874Green Short Hist. ix. 631 The words..were taken as conveying a covert threat.
b. of looks, glances.
1840Dickens Barn. Rudge xii, Towards one particular window he directed many covert glances. 1865― Mut. Fr. i. xvi, A covert glance at her face.
†3. Of persons: Not open, close, secretive; sly, deceitful. Obs.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 4489 Gog es als mykel at say, als covert, And Magog es noght elles bot als apert. c1400Rom. Rose 6152 Religiouse folk ben fulle covert; Seculer folk ben more appert. 1494Fabyan Chron. vi. clxv. 159 This Lewys was not so couert in his werke..but that his vncle had thereof wyttyng. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. v. 33 He was the couertst sheltred Traytor That euer liu'd. 1673S. C. Art of Complaisance 94 Tiberius the most crafty and covert of all men.
b. Of words: Of hidden or obscure meaning or reference. Now rare.
1393Gower Conf. II. 55 To speke in wordes so coverte. 1532More Confut. Tindale Wks. 542/1 The couert and obscure wordes of..Christ. 1622Bacon Hen. VII, 11 Chose rather a kind of middle-way..under covert and indifferent words. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Lit. Wks. (Bohn) II. 103 They have no fancy, and never are surprised into a covert or witty word.
4. Law. Said of a married woman: Under the cover, authority, or protection of her husband. See also feme-covert, covert-baron.
1483Act 1 Rich. III, c. 7 §3 Women covert. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. 32 b, If a woman couert with baron shall do homage they shall knele before the lorde. 1536Act 28 Hen. VIII (Stat. Irel. 1621) 149 The husband or friend of any woman covert. 1699Act 10–11 Will. III, c. 14 §2 Any person..within the age of 21 years, or covert, non compos, imprisoned, or beyond the seas. 1798Dallas Amer. Law Rep. II. 202 The instrument of 1790, executed by Margaret Henderson, being then covert.
▪ II. covert, n.|ˈkʌvət|
Forms 4–7 couert, 4 Sc. cowert, 5 coouert, coovert, cowart, 5–6 couerte, 4– covert.
[a. F. couvert, f. couvert, pa. pple. of couvrir to cover: see covert a.]
1. gen. A covering.
a1400Stac. Rome 768 Vppon his hed A covert of brasse. a1400Cov. Myst. 140, I suppose that this woman slepte Withowtyn alle coverte. 1630Wadsworth Pilgr. viii. 90 My bed was straw..without any couert at all. 1632Lithgow Trav. vii. (1682) 303 His Head vailed with a Wooden covert. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Search viii, What covert dare eclipse thy face? a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 200 Provident nature hath wrapped them [Wal-nuts] in so many coverts. 1759B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. Surrey 146 Sheltered from the cold Air by a moveable Covert. 1811W. R. Spencer Poems 82 With blood-stain'd covert rent.
2. a. That which serves for concealment, protection, or shelter; a hiding-place, shelter; = cover n. 3.
c1350Will. Palerne 2217 No couert miȝt þei kacche þe cuntre was so playne. 1375Barbour Bruce v. 582 Towart the cowert can he ga. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 71 Couert of treis sawit him full weille. 1550Lever Serm. (Arb) 137 Whyche also shall make bryght the couertes of darknesse. 1650Fuller Pisgah ii. iv. 113 In this City, Sheba the rebell, pursued by Joab..took covert. 1691Ray Creation ii. (1704) 363 They did all creep out of their Holes and Coverts. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 302 Firing from behind stone walls, and such like coverts. 1870Bryant Iliad I. iii. 80 A surer covert for the thief than night. 1876Bancroft Hist. U.S. VI. li. 385 No thicket offered covert, no swamp a refuge from cavalry.
b. fig. = cover 3 d.
1574tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 1 b, Vnder the couerts of figures, [rather] than in open speeche. 1597Bacon Coulers Good & Evill vii. (Arb.) 148 Hipocrisie draweth neer to religion for couert. 1713S. Pycroft Enq. Free-thinking 30 Free-Thinking is made the common Covert for Scepticism. 1873Browning Red Cotton Night-Cap Country 128 Publicity Stopped further fear..and what tale Cowardice thinks a covert.
c. † by covert: under cover, covertly. † in (into) covert: in concealment; in hiding, or disguise, secretly; rarely, in safety. in (the) covert of: in the shelter of; † rarely, in shelter from. [Cf. F. à couvert de in both senses.] under covert: under cover, in shelter; † in concealment, under a disguise. under (the) covert of: (lit. and fig.) under the shelter, authority, or countenance of; under the veil or disguise of; † under cover of (a letter).
1375Barbour Bruce vi. 528 [He] held hym in-to cowert ay. c1400Destr. Troy 13652 His cuntre [he] keppit in couert & pes To the last of his lyf. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. Proem in Ashm. (1652) 8 Bacon, and Raimond, with others many moe Wrote under covert, and Aristotle alsoe. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxiv. 137 Whiche [trestelles] shal serve to make aleyes undre couert. a1533Ld. Berners Huon clxiii. 636 They came downe in a valey by couerte..but the valyaunt knyght..spyed them. 1548Udall Erasm. Par. Luke xii. 113 Neither is there anythyng..so close under coverte, which shall not..be uncouered. 1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. xvii. 8 And under covert of thy winges defend me secretly. 1562Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 198 Under the Covert of that name you do..set forth your own error. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 2 If you have any delight in his felowshyp, use the same rather in covert..at home. 1611Bible Job xl. 21 He lieth..in the couert of the reede. 1641Wilkins Mercury ii. (1707) 10 Arguments..when they steal into a Man's Assent, under the Covert of a Parable. c1650Howell Lett. (1892) 599 I receiv'd your last under the covert of Sir John Sackvil. 1678A. Lovell Fontaine's Duties Cav. 141 Ditches, Hedges, little Hillocks, and..every thing that may put the Souldiers under Covert. 1697Potter Antiq. Greece iii. xx. (1715) 153 Walls..under the Covert of which the Vessels had Protection. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. vi. 11 Thy Bees a quiet Station find, And lodge 'em under Covert of the Wind. ― Eclog. vii. 12 Sit here with us, in covert of the Wind. 1773H. More Search Happ. i. 134 The Dame..Dwells in the covert of yon green retreat. 1791Cowper Iliad viii. 305 He under covert fought of the broad shield. 1862Rawlinson Anc. Mon. I. vi. 382 Every theory of roofing and lighting which places the whole of an Assyrian palace under covert.
3. A place which gives shelter to wild animals or game; esp. a thicket; = cover n. 4.
[1199Rot. Chartarum 21 Sex acras terræ in foresta nostra..juxta coopertum bosci.] 1494Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 17 It is ordained..that no Man..drive them out of their Coverts. 1551T. Wilson Logike 37 Coverts or boroughes, wherein..he may find game at pleasure. 1596Drayton Legends ii. 379 Like a Deere..to the Covert doth himselfe betake. 1751Johnson Rambler No. 141 ⁋10 Sportsmen who boast of killing the foxes which they lodge in the covert. 1801Strutt Sports & Past. i. i. 2 Wolves..infested the woods and coverts. 1863F. A. Kemble Resid. Georgia 19 The spiked palmetto forms an impenetrable covert. 1871R. Ellis Catullus lxiii. 72 Am I to..Be with hind that haunts the covert?
fig.1641Milton Prel. Episc. (1851) 88 Tradition..that wild, and overgrowne Covert of antiquity. 1691Ray Creation (1714) 335 The hedgehog..within his Covert or thicket of Prickles.
†4. The technical term for a flock or ‘company’ of coots. Obs.
c1430Lydg. Hors, Shepe, & G. (1822) 30 A couerte of cootes. 1486Bk. St. Albans F vj b, A Couert of cootes. [1801Strutt Sports & Past. i. ii. 33.]
5. Ornith. in pl. Feathers that cover the bases of the larger feathers on some particular part of the body, e.g. tail-coverts, wing-coverts, esp. the latter.
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. III. vii. xiii, The coverts of the wings are of a deep blackish green. 1797T. Bewick Brit. Birds 290 The middle coverts deep blue, glossed with green and gold. 1825Waterton Wand. S. Amer. ii. ii. 179 The great coverts of the wings are stiff, narrow and pointed. 1834R. Mudie Feathered Tribes Brit. Isles (1841) I. 8 The ear covert..consists of certain feathers that cover the external organ of hearing. 1836Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 351/1 The feathers which lie immediately over the quill-feathers are the ‘greater coverts’..The small feathers..upon the bones of the antebrachium..the ‘lesser coverts’. 1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. iv. §1. 73 The wing-coverts are brownish, with the greater coverts white.
†6.
a. Law. In phr. under covert= coverture 9.
1563Homilies ii. Matrimony (1859) 506 She is under covert and obedience of her husband. 1677W. Sherlock Answ. T. Danson 67 A Wife under covert is secured from all Arrests at Law. 1710Steele & Addison Tatler No. 262 ⁋4 She was now under Covert, and not liable to any Debts contracted when she was a single Woman.
b. transf. Authority, jurisdiction.
1563–87Foxe A. & M. (1684) I. 243/2 Bishops and Priests ought not to come under the covert and controlement of Temporal power.
7. attrib., as (sense 3) covert-bough, covert-shooting, covert-side; covert cloth = covert coating; covert coat, a short light overcoat worn while shooting, riding, etc., and as a dust-coat; hence covert coating, material, usually waterproof, for such coats; covert-feather = covert 5; † covert-parent, parental authority or protection (after covert-baron).
1816L. Hunt Rimini iii. 360 The birds that shot the *covert boughs between.
1895Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. List, Autumn & Winter Designs (caption) Walking Gown..in Melton and *Covert Cloths... Covert Cloth Gown. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 6 Apr. 7/1 (Advt.), Children's Covert Cloth Reefers. Lightweight serviceable Reefer Coats for children. 1968J. Ironside Fashion Alphabet 222 The best covert cloth is made from wool... Covert is also now made of rayon, cotton and synthetics.
a1893Mod. Advt. Waterproof Venetian *covert coats. 1894Country Gentlemen's Catal. 168/2 Special *covert coat materials. 1899E. W. Hornung Amat. Cracksman 16 A covert coat over his blazer. 1930W. S. Maugham Cakes & Ale v. 74 A fawn-coloured covert-coat with large buttons. 1960‘R. East’ Kingston Black viii. 77 Marty appeared in his covert coat.
1900‘Major of Today’ Clothes & Man ii. 61 A good useful riding or driving coat is made of a heavy *covert coating material. 1906Daily Chron. 27 Aug. 8/5 A charming coat..made in biscuit-coloured covert-coating. 1959Chambers's Encycl. XIV. 662/2 Covert coating, medium-weight fabric with a twill effect on the surface.
1575Turberv. Faulconrie 190 Fasten a bell upon the two *couert feathers of your hawkes stearne. 1760Edwards in Phil. Trans. LI. 835 The..covert feathers of the wings and tail. 1867B. P. Brent in Tegetmeier Pigeons xxi. (1867) 171 The whole of the lesser covert feathers of the wing shoulders.
1650Fuller Pisgah iv. vi. §6 Being grown Virgins of prety stature they were closely kept under *covert-parent.
1885New Bk. of Sports 34 The physical aspects of *covert-shooting..have changed very much.
1871M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. I. x. 305 He mounts his hack, and is off to the *covert-side.
▪ III. † ˈcovert, v. Obs.
[f. prec. n.]
trans. To put a covering over; to cover, conceal.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 147 In stre or other thynge To covert here is holsom husbondynge. Ibid. i. 385 This is husbondrie To covert hem with sumwhat whille thay drie. 1639Fuller Holy War iv. i. (1840) 175 The love of his loyal subjects, hitherto rather coverted than quenched. |