Etymograph

English

cover

Cover comes from Middle English coveren, from Old French covrir, from Latin cooperiō ‘to cover completely’ (co- + operiō).

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opweriō1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperiō2‘to close, cover’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcooperiō2‘to cover completely’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcooperiō2‘to cover’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400covrir2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coveren2‘to cover’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1712cover2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin operio
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English cover, which cites OED
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “Pent up in Utica he vainly forms A poor…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opweriōWiktionary, Latin operioreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoperiōWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED‘to close, cover’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcooperiōWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED‘to cover completely’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcooperiōWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED‘to cover’
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400covrirWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500coverenWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED‘to cover’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1712coverWiktionary, English cover, which cites OED. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1712, Joseph Addison, Cato: “Pent up in Utica he vainly forms A poor…”

The story

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the original sense of the verb and noun cover was “hide from view” as in its cognate covert. Except in the limited sense of “cover again”, the word recover is unrelated and is cognate with recuperate.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin operiō ‘to close, cover’

operculum, 7 more

Today it means

noun A lid.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “cover”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin operio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *opweriō / cover

Shirt and support for this word