covert
covert Lexical Profile
covert Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Not openly acknowledged or displayed; secret, hidden, or disguised.
"The journalists conducted a covert investigation into corporate tax evasion."
• noun
A thicket or area of dense undergrowth in which game animals or birds can hide.
"The pheasants retreated into a dense covert at the edge of the woodland."
Any of the smaller feathers that cover the bases of the main flight and tail feathers of a bird.
"The ornithologist identified the warbler species by the distinct white bars on its wing coverts."
Word Nuance & Usage
Often paired or contrasted with its antonym 'overt' (meaning open and observable). In traditional pronunciation, 'covert' rhymed with 'lover' (/ˈkʌvərt/), though the spelling pronunciation (/ˈkoʊvɜːrt/) is now widely standard.
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French 'covert', the past participle of 'covrir' (to cover), ultimately from Latin 'cooperire' (to cover completely).