cloak

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A long, loose outer garment worn over the shoulders, often with a hood.

   She wrapped a heavy wool cloak around herself before stepping into the snow.

2. 2
   verb

   To hide or disguise something.

   The company tried to cloak its losses behind clever accounting.

3. 3
   noun

   Something that hides or covers, often used figuratively.

   The thieves worked under the cloak of darkness.

From Middle English cloke, from Old Northern French cloque (“travelling cloak”), from Medieval Latin clocca (“travelers' cape, literally “a bell”, so called from the garment’s bell-like shape”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos, ultimately imitative. Doublet of cloche and clock.

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