Cove Meaning
/kəʊv/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern.
nounA concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling.
Sentence Examples
Down the coast from the shingle beach was a secluded cove.
Mrs. Spencer lived in a big yellow house at White Sands Cove.
There were reports that a pirate ship had come looking for treasure in the cove.
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CEFR Practice Quiz
We found a small ____ sheltered by cliffs along the coast.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"secret coves and noukes"
— 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “(please specify the book number)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […], →OCLC:
"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."
— 2014, Robert Kelly, Chung Wah Chow, “Taiwan's Islands”, in Taiwan, 9th edition, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 307, column 2:
"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[.]"
— 1997, Charles Frazier, chapter 2, in Cold Mountain, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 53:
"The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs."
— 1779, Henry Swinburne, Travels through Spain:
"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."
— 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
We found a small ____ sheltered by cliffs along the coast.