Palliare

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cover with a cloak or mantle; to conceal or disguise something behind a false appearance; to provide a superficial or deceptive coating to an issue or problem without addressing it directly
2. To drape an object with a covering that suggests warmth or protection; to mask or obscure true intentions or feelings with a veneer of politeness; to offer a superficial solution that fails to tackle the core issue
3. To envelop in a covering that implies comfort or security; to hide or obscure reality behind a facade; to gloss over a problem with a superficial remedy that doesn't solve it

Etymology: The Latin verb "palliare" meant to cover with a cloak, from "pallium," a Greek-style mantle or cloak. Its figurative sense of hiding something behind a show of innocence or good intent grew naturally from that image of covering. The English word "palliate" was borrowed from the Latin and entered the language in the 1500s. The verb's most striking twist is that its earliest English meaning was not "conceal" at all but "to make less severe," as in easing a disease or softening a crime. That sense came from the idea of wrapping something up so it looked gentler. Only later did the word take on the meaning of hiding faults, which is the sense the original Latin is closest to. Because "palliate" is now best known from medicine, where it means to relieve symptoms without curing the cause, the modern reader often meets it in the sense of easing rather than concealing. The word's two main senses are therefore not so far apart: both involve covering something over.

Synonyms: cover, cloak, drape, wrap, shield

Antonyms: expose, uncover, reveal, bare, unmask