different between obscure vs veil

English

Etymology

From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obsc?rus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- +? *sc?rus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)?eh?-.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?skj??(?)/, /?b?skj??(?)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?b?skj??/, /?b?skj?/
• Rhymes: -??(?), -??(?), -??(?)
• Hyphenation: ob?scure

Adjective

obscure (comparative obscurer or more obscure, superlative obscurest or most obscure)

1. Dark, faint or indistinct.
   • 1892, Denton Jaques Snider, Inferno, 1, 1-2 (originally by Dante Alighieri)

     I found myself in an obscure wood.

   • His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

2. Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
   • 1606, John Davies of Hereford, Bien Venu

     the obscure corners of the earth

3. Difficult to understand.

4. Not well-known.
5. Unknown or uncertain; unclear.

   The etymological roots of the word "blizzard" are obscure and open to debate.

Usage notes

• The comparative obscurer and superlative obscurest, though formed by valid rules for English, are less common than more obscure and most obscure.

Synonyms

• (dark): cimmerian, dingy; See also Thesaurus:dark
• (faint or indistinct): fuzzy, ill-defined; See also Thesaurus:indistinct
• (hidden, out of sight): occluded, secluded; See also Thesaurus:hidden
• (difficult to understand): fathomless, inscrutable; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
• (not well-known): enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious; See also Thesaurus:arcane

Antonyms

• clear

Derived terms

• obscurable
• unobscurable
• obscureness

Related terms

• obscurity
• obscuration

Translations

Verb

obscure (third-person singular simple present obscures, present participle obscuring, simple past and past participle obscured)

1. (transitive) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
   • c. 1688', William Wake, Preparation for Death

     There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured in the writings of learned men as this.

2. (transitive) To hide, put out of sight etc.
   • 1994, Bill Watterson, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, page 62

     I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To conceal oneself; to hide.

   • How! There's bad news. / I must obscure, and hear it.

Synonyms

• (to render obscure; to darken; dim): becloud, bedarken, bedim, bemist

Translations

Further reading

• obscure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obscure in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Cuberos

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p.sky?/

Adjective

obscure

1. feminine singular of obscur

Anagrams

• courbes

Latin

Adjective

obsc?re

1. vocative masculine singular of obsc?rus

References

• obscure in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obscure in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obscure in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

Etymology

From Middle English veil, veyl, from Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French veil (“sail, veil, shroud”) (Francien Old French voil, French voile), Latin v?lum (“sail”). Displaced Middle English scleire, scleyre, sleyre, slyre (“veil”) (compare German Schleier). Doublet of velum and voile.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ve?l/
• Rhymes: -e?l
• Homophones: vale, vail

Noun

veil (plural veils)

1. Something hung up or spread out to hide or protect the face, or hide an object from view; usually of gauze, crepe, or similar diaphanous material.

   • The veil of the temple was rent in twain.
2. (figuratively) Anything that partially obscures a clear view.
3. A cover; disguise; a mask; a pretense.
   • 2007. Zerzan, John. Silence. p. 4.

     Beckett complains that "in the forest of symbols" there is never quiet, and longs to break through the veil of language to silence.

4. A covering for a person or thing; as, a caul (especially over the head)

5. (biology) The calyptra of mosses.
6. (zoology) velum (A circular membrane round the cap of a medusa).
7. (mycology) A thin layer of tissue which is attached to or covers a mushroom.
8. (mycology) A membrane connecting the margin of the pileus of a mushroom with the stalk; a velum.
9. An obscuration of the clearness of the tones in pronunciation.
10. (figuratively, parapsychology) That which separates the living and the spirit world.

Derived terms

• dance of the seven veils
• draw a veil over
• take the veil
• veil of tears

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ??? (b?ru)
• ? Korean: ?? (beil)

Translations

Verb

veil (third-person singular simple present veils, present participle veiling, simple past and past participle veiled)

1. (transitive) To dress in, or decorate with, a veil.
2. (transitive) To conceal as with a veil.

   The forest fire was veiled by smoke, but I could hear it clearly.

Translations

Anagrams

• Levi, Viel, evil, live, vile, vlei

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

veil

1. first-person singular present indicative of veilen
2. imperative of veilen

Adjective

veil (comparative veiler, superlative veilst)

1. venal

Inflection

Anagrams

• viel, vlei