English
reveal
Reveal comes from Middle English revēlen, from Old French reveler, from Latin revēlō ‘to uncover’ (re- + vēlō), from vēlum ‘veil’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlum1‘cloth, veil’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlō1‘to cover’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevēlō1‘to reveal, uncover’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400reveler1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500revēlen1
- Englishearliest quotation 2002reveal1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English reveal
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Blain Brown, Cinematography: “A simple dolly or crane move can be used…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlumWiktionary, English reveal‘cloth, veil’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvēlōWiktionary, English reveal‘to cover’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErevēlōWiktionary, English reveal‘to reveal, uncover’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400revelerWiktionary, English reveal
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500revēlenWiktionary, English reveal
- Englishearliest quotation 2002revealWiktionary, English reveal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Blain Brown, Cinematography: “A simple dolly or crane move can be used…”
The story
Also compare typologically English uncloak, dismantle, divest, invest, unmask, Russian разобла́чать (razobláčatʹ) (akin to облаче́ние (oblačénije), срыва́ть покро́вы (sryvátʹ pokróvy) (покро́в (pokróv, “cover, covering”)).
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to bring’
way, always, via, vehicle, wave, weigh, wagon, wee, halfway, vector, vogue, wedge, vein, wag, wonky, headway, eunuch, venous, vex, wey, waw, wain, invective, vena, 40 more
through Latin vēlum ‘a cloth, covering, curtain, veil, awning, sail’
through Middle English revēlen
Today it means
noun The outer side of a window or door frame.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “reveal”. 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 / Latin vēlum / reveal