An archaic or dialectal term meaning to cover with a veil or to conceal something.
From the prefix 'be-' combined with 'veil,' following the Middle English pattern of using 'be-' to create transitive verbs. The meaning evolved from literal veiling to covering or concealing more broadly.
This is another 'be-' verb that mostly disappeared from English! We used to say 'beveil,' 'belace,' 'bedeck'—adding 'be-' to make verbs. It's like an old creative word-making tool that fell out of fashion.
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