Velate

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. To cover something lightly or partially as if with a veil or thin layer
2. To obscure or overlay an object or surface with a thin, veil-like covering
3. To wrap or envelop something delicately, resembling the effect of a transparent veil

Etymology: "Velate" comes straight from Latin "vēlātus," the past participle of "vēlāre," meaning "to veil." The Latin verb itself is built on "vēlum," a sail or covering, and the same root gave English "veil." So the word is essentially a veiled thing described in its own grammar: something that has been covered over, here only lightly. The English word is a direct borrowing of the Latin participle, which is why it keeps the "-ate" ending that many Latin participles carry into English. Rather than being formed in English from "veil" plus a suffix, it preserves the older Latin shape, so the connection to "veil" is clear once you see the shared root.