To Reveal Is to Remove a Veil
A veil is a covering of fine fabric. The word sits inside reveal and revelation.
A veil is a piece of fine fabric worn to conceal or protect the face. The word is hiding inside two common ones: *reveal* comes from Latin *revelare*, to draw back the veil, and *revelation* is literally an unveiling. Every time something is revealed, the metaphor is a veil being lifted. Latin *velum* also means a sail, from the same idea of stretched cloth, and it gives *velum* in anatomy for the soft palate.
- A face covering. *A bridal veil.*
- To cover. *Veiled in mist.*
- Reveal — to unveil. *To reveal.*
- Revelation — an unveiling. *A revelation.*
- Latin — *velum*, a cloth. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | veil | A veil. |
| Verb | veil | Veiled. |
| Adjective | unveiled | Unveiled. |
| Related | reveal | To reveal. |
| Latin | velum | A cloth or sail. |
- She lifted her veil.Clothing.
- Veiled in secrecy.Figurative.
- Revelare means to unveil.Etymology.
The velum family
- Veil — a covering cloth
- Reveal — to draw the veil back
- Revelation — an unveiling
- Velum — the soft palate in anatomy
- Velar — a consonant made at the soft palate
Anglo-French *veil*, from Latin *velum*, a cloth, covering or sail.
Is reveal related to veil?
Yes. Revelare means to draw back the veil, so revealing something is literally unveiling it.
Why is the soft palate called the velum?
From the same Latin word for a stretched cloth, describing its shape and position.