cove
/koʊv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.64 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds; bight.
noun
A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain.
noun
The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship.
noun
A valley between two ridges, especially one that, opening to the south and east, is protected by ridges on the north and west from common winter storm tracks.
Example Sentences
- "secret coves and noukes"
- "There are several excellent snorkelling spots in the shallow coves around Chimei, and one-day tours (NT$1100 to NT$1300, including transport and food) can be arranged beforehand by your hotel or home-stay."
- "They were, despite their ignorance, unavoidably prosperous since their farm occupied a wide piece of cove bottom with dirt so black and rich it would raise sweet potatoes as long as your arm[.]"
- "The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs."
- "Don't call Major Pendennis an old cove, if you'll 'ave the goodness, Lightfoot, and don't call me an old cove, nether. Such words ain't used in society; and we have lived in the fust society, both at 'ome and foring."
- "He was lying back in an arm-chair with his mouth open and a sort of goofy expression in his eyes, while a grey-bearded cove in the middle distance watched him with so much dislike that I concluded that Bingo had pinched his favourite seat."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /koʊv/
- British English: /kəʊv/
Usage
- American usage
- British usage
- Dated
- Australian usage
- Obsolete
- Countable
- Uncountable