Covered with a veil; hidden, concealed, or not directly stated; obscured or disguised.
From Old French 'veille,' derived from Latin 'vela' (sails or coverings). Originally a cloth covering, it evolved metaphorically to mean anything hidden or obscured.
The word 'veiled' works on two levels that actually mean the same thing—a veiled woman's face is physically hidden, and 'veiled criticism' hides its real meaning—so the word perfectly captures how hiding something physical is exactly like hiding something abstract.
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