couvre-nuque 
wise movement. (See annet.) In the headpieces of the 
sixteenth century, after the abandonment of the full pano- 
ply of steel, the couvre-nuque was a large plate secured to 
the lower edge of the helmet behind, or more commonly a 
series of plates, like the tassets, moving one upon another 
and secured to a lining of leather or some other material 
hy rivets. 
couxia (ko'shi-a), n. 1. Same as coitxio. 2. 
The Pithecia satanns, or black-bearded saki. 
couxio (ko'shi-6), n. The red-backed saki, 
Pithecia chiropotes, a South American monkey 
of the subfamily Pitheciince. 
COVado (ko-va'do), n. [Pg., also coto, a cubit, 
ell Flemish, < L. cubitum, cubitus, a cubit: see 
cubit.] A cloth-measure of Portugal ; a cubit. 
It is theoretically 24 Portuguese inches ; but in retail trade 
the covado avantajado is employed, which is variously said 
to be from J to 1^ inches longer. It has no doubt varied. 
Taking it at 24} inches (the usual statement), it is equal 
to 26.7 English inches. The same measure was used in 
Brazil ; but both countries have now adopted the metric 
system. 
COVariant (ko-va'ri-ant), n. [< co- 1 + variant.] 
In math., a function' which stands in the same 
relation to the primitive function from which 
it is derived as any of its linear transforms to 
a similarly derived transform of its primitive ; 
a function of the coefficients and variables of a 
given quautic, such that when the quantic is 
linearly transformed, the same function of the 
new variables and coefficients is equal to the old 
function multiplied by some power of the modu- 
lus of transformation. Covariants were discov- 
ered by Cayley, andso named by Sylvester, 1852. 
COVe 1 (kov), n. [A word with a wide range of 
meanings: < ME. "cove (not recorded), < AS. 
cofa, a chamber, room (applied also to the ark), 
ONorth. cofa. a chamber, also a cave, = Icel. 
kofi, a hut, shed, cell, = Norw. leave, a closet, 
= Sw. dial, kove, a hut, = MLG. leave, kave, kofe, 
LG. kave, kowe, a pen, a sty, stall, = MHG. 
kobe, G. koben (G. also kofen, < LG.), a cabin, 
stall, cage (cf. MHG. kobel, a little cottage, and 
OHG. chubisi, a hut) ; Goth, form not recorded. 
Perhaps akin to cwfeS, a stall, cubby, a snug, con- 
fined place (see cub a , cubby 1 ), but not to cave 1 , 
coop, cup, or alcove, with which last word cove is 
often erroneously connected. In the architec- 
tural sense, cove corresponds to It. cuvette, lit. 
a little hollow.] 1. A small inlet, creek, or 
bay ; a recess or nook in the shore of any con- 
siderable body of water. 
On both sides every halfe myle gallant Cows, to con- 
taine in many of them 100 sayle. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's True Travels, I. 111. 
At length I spied a little cove on the right shore of the 
creek, to which with great pain and difficulty I guided 
my raft. Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, p. 39. 
Waves that up a quiet com 
Rolling slide. Tennyson, Eleanore. 
Hence 2. A hollow, nook, or recess in a moun- 
tain, or among mountains. The word cove is used 
with this meaning in various regions, especially in the 
Lake district of England, and in parts of the Appalachian 
range in the United States. The coves of the Blue Ridge 
in Virginia are oval, almost entirely inclosed, valleys, and 
are a prominent topographical feature of that part of the 
Appalachian system. 
3. In arch., a concavity ; any kind of concave 
molding ; the hollow of a vault. The term is com- 
monly applied to the curve which is sometimes used to 
connect the ceiling of a room with the walls, and which 
springs from above the cornice. See coved ceiling, under 
coved. 
4f. In ship-building, a curved or arched mold- 
ing at the bottom of the taffrail. An elliptical 
molding above it was called the arch of the cove. 
cove 1 (kov), v. t. and . ; pret. and pp. coved, 
ppr. coving. [< cowl, m .] TO arch over. 
The brook ploughed down from the higher barrows, and 
the coving banks were roofed with furze. 
R. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, xxxvii. 
cove 2 t (kov), v. t. [< OF. cover, F. comer (= It. 
covare), brood, hatch, < L. cnbare, lie down, in 
comp. incubare, brood, incubate : see cubation, 
incubate, etc., and cf. couvade and oowyl.] To 
brood, cover, or sit over. 
Not being able to cave or sit upon them [eggsl, . . she 
bestoweth them in the gravel. 
Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 800. 
cove 3 (kov), n. [Also covey, in old slang writ- 
ten cofe (whence cuffin), gipsy cova, a thing, 
covo, tnat man, covi, that woman.] A man; a 
person ; a fellow : generally preceded by some 
adjective : as, an old cove; a rum cove; a flash 
cove, etc. [Slang.] 
There's a gentry cove here. W its' Recreations (1654). 
A ben cove, a brave cove, a gentry cliffln. 
Middleton and Dekker, Roaring Girl, v. 1. 
COVe-bracketing (k6v'brak"et-ing), n. The 
wooden skeleton forming a cove : applied chief- 
ly to the bracketing for the cove of a ceiling. 
1316 
coved (kovd), p. a. [< cove 1 , 3, + -erf 2 .] Form- 
ing an arch ; arched ; curving ; concave. 
The mosques and other buildings of the Arabians are 
rounded into domes and coved roofs. 
H. Smnburne, Travels through Spain, xliv. 
That singular coved cornice which seems to have been 
universal in Roman basilicas, though not found anywhere 
else that I am aware of. J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 414. 
Coved celling, a ceiling formed in a coved or arched 
manner at its junction with the side walls. Such ceilings 
Coved Ceiling. Louvre Palace, Paris. 
are frequently elaborately ornamented with panels en- 
riched with moldings or carvings. 
covellin, COVelline (kov'el-in), n. [Perhaps 
from a proper name, Covell.~\ Native copper 
sulphid (CuS), usually occurring massive, of an 
indigo-blue color, hence called indigo-copper. 
covellite (kov'el-!t), n. Same as covellin. 
coven 1 !, n. See covin 1 . 
COVen 2 t, . See covent. 
COVenablet, a. [< ME. covenable, contr. conable, 
and by corruption comenable, < OF. covenable, 
cuvenable, also convenable, mod. F. convenable 
( > E. convenable, q. v. ) = Pr. convenable, coven- 
lmbte=Pg. convinhavel, < ML. convenabilis, irreg. 
< L. convenire (> OF. covenir, cuvenir, convenir, 
F. convenir), come together, agree : see convene, 
convenient.] 1. Suitable; fit; proper; due. 
Thei [herbs and trees] waxen faste in swiche places as ben 
covenable to them. Chaucer, Boethius, iii. prose 2. 
Wherfor aud a couenable name he putte to the place. 
Wyclif, Ex. xv. 23. 
Weche foure and twenty sholde, to the couenable so- 
maunse [summons] of the forseyde meyre, come. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 349. 
2. Accordant; agreeing; consistent. 
The witnessingis weren not couenable. 
Wyclif, Mark xiv. 56. 
covenablenesst, n. [< ME. covenablenesse ; < cov- 
enable + -ness. J Suitableness; fitness; oppor- 
tunity. 
To alle nede time is and couenableiiesse [var. cesoun 
Purv.]. Wyclif, Eccl. viii. 6. 
covenabletyt, n. [< ME. covenablete, < OF. cove- 
nablete, cuvenablete, convenablete, < covenable : see 
covenable and -ty.'] Suitableness ; fitness ; suit- 
able time or opportunity. 
Fro that tyme he souste couenablete [var. oportunyte 
Purv.] for to bitake him. Wyclif, Mat. xxvi. 16. 
COVenablyt, adv. [< ME. covenably, covenabli; 
< covenable, a.] Suitably; conveniently; pro- 
portionately. 
He soujte how he schulde bitraye him couenably. 
Wyclif, Mark xlv. 11 (Oxf.). 
Thei han grete Leves, of a Fote and an half of lengthe : 
and thei ben covenably large [wide], 
MandevUle, Travels, p. 49. 
covenant (kuv'e-nant), n. [Early mod. E. also 
cai'nant, < ME. covenant, covcnaunt, covenand, 
rarely convenant, contr. covnant, cownand, co- 
nanl, conand, and by corruption comenaunt, < 
OF. covenant, cuvenant, couvenant, couvenent, 
covinent, also convenant, F, convenant (= Pr. 
convinent, covinent = It. convenente), agreement, 
< covenant, cuvenant, etc., adj.,< L. convenien(t-)s, 
agreeing, agreeable, suitable, convenient, ppr. 
of convenire (>OF. covenir, cuvenir, etc.), agree: 
see covenable, and cf. convenient, of which cove- 
nant is ult. a doublet. Cf. equiv. covent.] 1. A 
mutual compact or agreement of two or more 
persons to do or to refrain from doing some 
act ; a contract; a compact. 
I made couenaunt, true to be, 
Firste whanne y baptisid was. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 35. 
Love prays. It makes covenants with Eternal Power in 
behalf of this dear mate. Emerson, Essays, 1st ser., p. 168. 
2. In law : (a) In general, an agreement under 
seal ; a specialty ; any promise made by deed. 
Let specialties lie therefore drawn between us 
That covenants may be kept on either hand. 
SAo*., T. of the S., ii. 1. 
covenant 
Covenants are to be understood according to the plain 
meaning of the words, and not according to any secret 
reservation. Stillinyfleet, Sermons, II. v. 
(ft) More particularly, a subordinate stipulation 
forming part of the same sealed instrument 
with the agreement to which it is incidental : 
as, a covenant of warranty of title in a deed. 
3. In Biblical usage, the free promise of God, 
generally, though not always expressly, accom- 
panied by the requirement of the fulfilment of 
certain conditions on the part of man. 
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token 
of a covenant between me and the earth. Gen. ix. 13. 
4. JEccles., a solemn agreement between the 
members of a church, as that they will act to- 
gether in harmony with the precepts of the 
gospel. Specifically, in Scottish hist. , the bond or engage- 
ment subscribed in 1638, and often called the National 
Covenant, based upon the covenant or oath for the observ- 
ance of the confession of faith drawn up in 1581 (preceded 
by a similar one in 1557), which was signed and enjoined 
upon all his subjects by James VI. (afterward James I. of 
England), and renewed in 1590 and 1596. Its object was 
the maintenance of the Presbyterian or Reformed religion 
against popery, and its particular cause was the attempt 
of Charles I. to force a liturgy upon Scotland. At the 
restoration of episcopacy in 1662, both the National Cove- 
nant and the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643 (Bee 
below) were proscribed, and liberty of conscience was not 
regained until after the revolution of 1688. 
5f. Specifically, an indenture ; an article of ap- 
prenticeship. 
Euery prentes of the sayd craft that is inrolled and 
trewly seruethe his cownand, shall pay a spone of selver. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 316. 
At Michalmas next my cov'nant comes out, 
When every man gathers his fee. 
Jolly Finder [pound-keeper] of Wakefeld (Child's 
[Ballads, V. 206). 
Action of covenant, or covenant merely, the common- 
law form of action by which a plaintiff claims damages 
for breach of covenant or contract under seal. Breach 
of covenant. See breach. Concurrent covenant. 
See dependent covenant. Covenant against encum- 
brances. See encumbrance. Covenant of redemption, 
in theol., a covenant which the Father is thought by cer- 
tain theologians to have made with the Son, whereby the 
former agreed to give to the latter the elect, provided the 
latter would do and suffer all that he afterward did and 
suffered for their redemption. Covenant Of works, 
in theol., the covenant before the fall, conditioned on 
obedience : distinguished from the covenant of grace, or 
the covenant after the fall, conditioned on faith. Cove- 
nant real, a covenant by which a person covenants for 
his heirs as well as for himself, as is usually the case 
in covenants for title, thus binding them to the perform- 
ance of the covenant if they should inherit assets from him, 
but not otherwise. Covenants which run with the 
land, covenants relating to real property, such that either 
the liability to perform or the right to take advantage 
passes to the transferee of the estate of either party. 
Covenant to stand seized to usea, a covenant by which 
an owner of land covenants, in consideration of blood or 
marriage, that he will stand seized or possessed of the 
same to the use of his wife or a near relative. This, under 
the statute of uses, which declared the ownership to be in 
the person beneficially interested, operated as a convey- 
ance to the latter. Covenant with Christ, the covenant 
into which the members of most non-liturgical churches 
publicly enter on uniting with the church, to live as loyal 
and faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Covenant with 
the Church, a covenant similar to the preceding, to walk 
in harmony with the particular church of which the one 
covenanting desires to become a member, and to labor 
for its peace and prosperity. Dependent or concur- 
rent covenant, a covenant which will not sustain an ac- 
tion in case of breach, without a performance or tender of 
performance of the covenant on the other side. Half- 
way covenant, a practice which prevailed for a time in 
the Puritan churches in New England, in the seventeenth 
century, according to which persons who had been bap- 
tized in their infancy were admitted to the privileges and 
prerogatives of church-membership, provided they as- 
sented to the doctrines of faith, entered into covenant 
with the church, and did not lead scandalous and immoral 
lives, although they gave no evidence of conversion and 
made no profession of Christian experience. Indepen- 
dent covenant, a covenant which must be performed, 
and the breach of which will sustain an action, irrespec- 
tive of whether the covenantee has performed the cove- 
nants upon his part in the same instrument or agreement. 
National Covenant. See covenant, 4. Solemn League 
and Covenant, a solemn contract entered into between 
the General'Assembly of the Church of Scotland and com- 
missioners from the English Parliament in 1643. having for 
its object a uniformity of doctrine, worship, and discipline 
throughout Scotland, England, and Ireland, according to 
the Presbyterian standards. It was opposed to both popery 
and prelacy. - The Old Covenant, the New Covenant, 
the Jewish and Christian dispensations respectively; the 
designations of the two parts of the Bible, commonly called 
the Old and the New Testament. See testament. = Syn. En- 
gagement, etc. (see promise, n.) ; Covenant, Contract, com- 
pact, bargain, convention, mutual pledge. Covenant, as 
now used (apart from its legal mean ing), carries with it the 
idea of solemnity, and is generally used of religious mat- 
ters, no civil penalty necessarily following the infraction 
of it, while contract, has a much wider sense as applied to 
some agreement between two or more. As law terms, cove- 
nant generally implies an agreement in writing, signed 
and sealed, whereas contract includes verbal agreements 
or such as are not signed and sealed. 
covenant (kuv'e-nant), v. [< covenant, .] I. 
intranx. To enter into a formal agreement; 
contract ; bind one's self by contract ; agree 
formally or solemnly : as, A' covenants with B 
