cove

cove · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kubô
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kobō
3. Old English · inherited fromcofa“chamber; den”
4. Middle English · inherited fromcove
5. English todaycove

From Middle English cove, from Old English cofa (“chamber; den”), from Proto-West Germanic *kobō, from Proto-Germanic *kubô. Cognate with Dutch koof (“cove”), German Low German Koov (“small room”), German Koben (“nook, shed”), Icelandic kofi (“hut, shack”). This word has probably survived as long as it has due to its coincidental phonetic resemblance to the unrelated word English cave. Also unrelated to Spanish cueva, which itself is a cognate of cave.

cove · noun²

1. Romani · derived fromkova“that person”
2. Romani · derived fromkodo“this one, him”
3. English todaycove

Attested in Britain a. 1570, from Romani kodo (“this one, him”, pronounced /koðo/, ultimately undergoing th-fronting to /kov/ in English), or perhaps directly from Romani kova (“that person”).

cove · verb³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱewb-“to lie down”
2. Latin · derived fromcubāre“to lie down, recline; to incubate; to be broody”
3. Old French · derived fromcover“to hatch (eggs)”
4. French · borrowed fromcouver
5. English todaycove

Borrowed from French couver, from Old French cover (“to hatch (eggs)”), from Latin cubāre (“to lie down, recline; to incubate; to be broody”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewb- (“to lie down”). Cognates * Italian covare

Cove · proper noun⁴

1. Old English · derived fromcofa“cave, cove, hollow, cavern”
2. English todayCove

From Old English cofa (“cave, cove, hollow, cavern”).

Cove · proper noun⁵

From Sydney Cove.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 9th c. A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern.
• from 16th c. A concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling.
• from 16th c. A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds; bight.
• from 19th c. A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain.
• from 19th c. The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship.
• from 19th c. A thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht's strake below deck level.