Long, loose outer garments worn over other clothes; or the verb meaning to cover or hide something.
From Old French 'cloque,' possibly from Latin 'clocca,' related to bells (because some cloaks had bells attached). The metaphorical use of 'cloak' to mean 'hide' developed naturally from the image of something being concealed under a garment.
The phrase 'cloak and dagger' became synonymous with espionage, but it originally referred to the actual weapons spies carried hidden under their cloaks—making the everyday garment a symbol of deception itself.
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