cove1

 
Pronunciation: /kəʊv/

noun

  • 1a small sheltered bay.
  • dialect a sheltered recess among hills or in the side of a mountain.
  • 2 Architecture a concave arch or arched moulding, especially one formed at the junction of a wall with a ceiling.

verb

[with object] (usually as adjective coved) Architecture
  • provide (a room, ceiling, etc.) with a cove: the mosques are rounded into domes and coved roofs

Origin:

Old English cofa 'chamber, cave', of Germanic origin; related to German Koben 'pigsty, pen'. cove1 (sense 1 of the noun) dates from the late 16th century