Adjacent Words

Vail definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

VAIL, n. [L. velum, from velo, to cover, to spread over. It is correctly written vail for e, in Latin, is our a.]
1. Any kind of cloth which is used for intercepting the view and hiding something; as the vail of the temple among the Israelites.
2. A piece of thin cloth or silk stuff, used by females to hide their faces. In some eastern countries, certain classes of females never appear abroad without vails.
3. A cover; that which conceals; as the vail of oblivion.
4. In botany, the membranous covering of the germen in the Musci and Hepaticae; the calypter.
5. Vails, money given to servants. [Not used in America.]
VAIL, v.t. [L. velo.] To cover; to hide from the sight; as, to vail the face.
VAIL, v.t.
1. To let fall.
They stiffly refused to vail their bonnets.
[I believe wholly obsolete.]
2. To let fall; to lower; as, to vail the topsail. Obs.
3. To let fall; to sink. Obs.
VAIL, v.i. To yield or recede; to give place; to show respect by yielding.
Thy convenience must vail to thy neighbor's necessity. Obs.

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English valen, partly from Anglo-French valer (short for avaler to lower) & partly short for Middle English avalen to let fall, from Anglo-French avaler, from aval downward, from a to (from Latin ad) + val valley — more at at, vale Date: 14th century to lower often as a sign of respect or submission

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. archaic 1 tr. lower or doff (one's plumes, pride, crown, etc.) esp. in token of submission. 2 intr. yield; give place; remove one's hat as a sign of respect etc. Etymology: ME f. obs. avale f. OF avaler to lower f. a val down, f. val VALE(1)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vail Vail, n. & v. t. Same as Veil.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vail Vail, n. [Aphetic form of avail, n.] 1. Avails; profit; return; proceeds. [Obs.] My house is as were the cave where the young outlaw hoards the stolen vails of his occupation. --Chapman. 2. An unexpected gain or acquisition; a casual advantage or benefit; a windfall. [Obs.] 3. Money given to servants by visitors; a gratuity; -- usually in the plural. [Written also vale.] --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Vail Vail, n. Submission; decline; descent. [Obs.]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

val.

See VEIL.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Cover, hide from sight, veil, conceal.