Covering

How to spell covering

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce covering

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does covering mean?

1. nounA layer of material that is placed over or around something to protect, conceal, or decorate it.
2. verbPresent participle of cover: placing something over an object, or temporarily handling another person's duties.

Covering in a sentence

• noun

  The floor covering was replaced with hardwood throughout the house.

• verb

  She is covering the morning shift while her colleague is on leave.

• noun

  A thin covering of dust had settled on the bookshelves.

• verb

  The painters are covering the furniture before they start work.

Where does covering come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word descends from the verb 'cover', which entered Middle English in the 1200s from Old French 'covrir' and ultimately from the Latin 'cooperire', meaning 'to cover over completely'. That Latin verb was built from the prefix 'co-' (an intensifier here, roughly 'wholly') and 'operire' (to close or cover). The '-ing' ending is the native English suffix that turns a verb into a noun of action or a present participle, so 'covering' literally names the act of covering or the thing that does the covering. The single 'v' is the spelling trap: because the stressed vowel is short, writers sometimes expect a doubled letter, but English keeps just one 'v' here. The same Latin root surfaces in 'curfew', which originally meant 'cover the fire'.

How the word is built

• cover (from Latin cooperire: to cover over)
• -ing (noun/participle suffix)