cover

Where does the word "cover" come from? It comes from Latin cooperire, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Cover’s story begins in Latin: cooperire meant “to cover wholly.” 'co-', completely, plus 'operire', to close. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as covrir. The same verb gives 'kerchief', a head-cover. It reached English by 1200s as cover. 'cover story' and 'cover song' came in the 1900s. Today, cover means to put something over or on top of.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient cooperire "to cover wholly", 'co-', completely, plus 'operire', to close.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval covrir "to cover", the same verb gives 'kerchief', a head-cover.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s cover "to put something over", 'cover story' and 'cover song' came in the 1900s.