Etymologically
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uncover

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ʌnˈkʌvə(ɹ)/[1]
  • US: /ʌnˈkʌvɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + cover, with the prefix that reverses an action,[2][3][4][5] and appears in Middle English as uncoveren.[6][5][7] Cover is from Old French covrir (“to cover, protect, conceal”), from Latin cooperiō (“to cover over”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Figuratively, to disclose or make known: before 1300, in the Cursor Mundi.[2][3] Hoad dates the word to the 13th century.[8]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline notes that the figurative sense "reveal" is recorded before the literal one;[3] the sense of laying something bare by taking away what covers it follows about 1390, and that of taking off a lid or cover about 1410.[2] In Middle English the participle uncovered could mean a cup without a lid, or a house without a roof,[6][9][4] and Chaucer used it twice.[9] From 1530 it was used of baring the head as a mark of respect, and since 1627 intransitively, to take off one's hat.[2][3] Johnson (1755) defined it first as "to divest of a covering".[10] In hunting it meant to drive a fox out of cover (1812), a use the English Dialect Dictionary records in Galloway in 1824,[2][11] and in military use it meant to leave troops or a position exposed (1796).[2]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – to disclose, make known.[2]
  • c. 1390 – to lay bare by removing a covering.[2]
  • c. 1410 – to take the cover or lid off.[2]
  • 1530 – to strip of clothing; to bare the head as a mark of respect.[2]
  • 1627 – intransitive, to take off one's hat.[2][3]
  • 1796 – military, to leave exposed by moving troops.[2]
  • 1812 – hunting, to drive a fox out of cover.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To bring to light something hidden; to reveal or disclose: The audit uncovered a series of false invoices.[12][5][2]
  2. To take the cover, lid or covering off something, or expose it to view: Uncover the dish for the last ten minutes of baking.[12][5][2]
  3. To take off one's hat or head covering, especially as a mark of respect.[12][2]
  4. In military use, to leave troops or a position exposed to the enemy.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  12. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins