Cove — Defs

01 n. A retired nook; especially, a small, sheltered inlet, creek, or bay; a recess in the shore.

1.
A retired nook; especially, a small, sheltered inlet, creek, or bay; a recess in the shore.
“Vessels which were in readiness for him within secret coves and nooks.” — Holland.
2.
A strip of prairie extending into woodland; also, a recess in the side of a mountain.[U.S.]
3.
A concave molding.(Arch.)

02 v. t. To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove.

imp. & p. p. Coved; p. pr. & vb. n. Coving

1.
To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove.(Arch.)
“The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs.” — H. Swinburne.

Phrases & compounds

Coved ceiling — a ceiling, the part of which next the wail is constructed in a cove.

Coved vault — a vault composed of four coves meeting in a central point, and therefore the reverse of a groined vault.

03 v. t. To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs.

1.
To brood, cover, over, or sit over, as birds their eggs.[Obs.]
“Not being able to cove or sit upon them [eggs], she [the female tortoise] bestoweth them in the gravel.” — Holland.

04 n. A boy or man of any age or station.

1.
A boy or man of any age or station.[Slang]
“There's a gentry cove here.” — Wit's Recreations (1654).

“Now, look to it, coves, that all the beef and drink Be not filched from us.” — Mrs. Browning.