cove

Etymology 1

From Middle English cove, from Old English cofa (“chamber; den”), from Proto-West Germanic *kobō, from Proto-Germanic *kubô. Cognate with German Koben, Swedish kova. This word has probably survived as long as it has due to its coincidental phonetic resemblence to the unrelated word "cave".

noun

1. (now uncommon) A hollow in a rock; a cave or cavern.
2. (architecture) A concave vault or archway, especially the arch of a ceiling.
3. A small coastal inlet, especially one having high cliffs protecting vessels from prevailing winds.
4. (US) A strip of prairie extending into woodland.
5. A recess or sheltered area on the slopes of a mountain.
6. (nautical) The wooden roof of the stern gallery of an old sailing warship.
7. (nautical) A thin line, sometimes gilded, along a yacht's strake below deck level.

verb

1. (architecture) To arch over; to build in a hollow concave form; to make in the form of a cove.
   The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are rounded into domes and coved roofs. 1779, Henry Swinburne, Travels through Spain

Etymology 2

Britain ante-1570. From Romani kodo (“this one, him”), perhaps change in consonants due to lower class th-fronting, or Romani kova (“that person”).

noun

1. (Britain, dated, informal, thieves' cant, Lewis) A fellow; a man.
   At one point, a friendly-looking sort of cove with silver hair and a grandfatherly kind of face beamed at him […] 2012, Terry Pratchett, Dodger, page 326
2. (Australia and Polari) A friend; a mate.

Etymology 3

Compare French couver, Italian covare. See covey.

verb

1. To brood, cover, or sit over, as birds their eggs.