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Origin and history of reveal

reveal(v.)

c. 1400, revelen, "disclose, divulge, make known (supernaturally or by divine agency, as religious truth)," from Old French reveler "reveal" (14c.), from Latin revelare "reveal, uncover, disclose," literally "unveil," from re- "back, again," here probably indicating "opposite of" or transition to an opposite state (see re-) + velare "to cover, veil," from velum "a veil" (see veil (n.)). Related: Revealed; revealer; revealing. Meaning "display, make clear or visible, expose to sight" is from c. 1500.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to reveal

revealed(adj.)

"brought to light, disclosed," 1560s, past-participle adjective from reveal. Revealed religion, made known by direct divine agency, as opposed to natural religion, is attested from 1719.

revealing(adj.)

"that reveals," 1590s, present-participle adjective from reveal (v.). Related: Revealingly.

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Trends of reveal

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

veil
c. 1200, "nun's head covering," from Anglo-French and Old North French veil (12c., Modern French voile) "a head-covering," also "a sail, a curtain," from Latin vela, plural of velum "sail, curtain, covering," from PIE root *weg- (1) "to weave a web." Vela was mistaken in Vulgar L
revelation
c. 1300, revelacioun, "disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency," from Old French revelacion and directly from Latin revelationem (nominative revelatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of revelare "unveil, uncover, lay bare" (see
discover
c. 1300, discoveren, "divulge, reveal, disclose, expose, lay open to view, betray (someone's secrets)," senses now obsolete, from stem of Old French descovrir "uncover, unroof, unveil, reveal, betray," from Medieval Latin discooperire, from Latin dis- "opposite of" (see dis-) + c
expound
mid-14c., expounen, expounden, "to explain or comment on, to reveal the meaning" (of Scripture, etc.), from Old French espondre...), set forth, explain," from Latin exponere "put forth, expose, exhibit; set on shore, disembark; offer, leave exposed, reveal...General (non-theological) sense of "set forth, reveal, describe or tell" is from late 14c....
detect
early 15c., "uncover, lay bare, expose, disclose, reveal," a sense now obsolete, from Latin detectus, past participle of...detegere "uncover, expose," figuratively "discover, reveal, disclose," from de "un-, off" (see de-) + tegere "to cover,"...
display
Properly of sails or flags (and unconnected to play); meaning "reveal, exhibit, expose to view" is late 14c.; sense of "reveal...
muster
early 14c., moustren, "to display, reveal, to show or demonstrate" (senses now obsolete), also "to appear, be present," from...Old French mostrer "appear, show, reveal," also in a military sense (10c., Modern French montrer), from Latin monstrare...
sign
early 13c., signe, "gesture or motion of the hand," especially one meant to express thought or convey an idea, from Old French signe "sign, mark," from Latin signum "identifying mark, token, indication, symbol; proof; military standard, ensign; a signal, an omen; sign in the heav
sing
Middle English singen, from Old English singan "to chant, sing," especially in joy or merriment; "celebrate, or tell in song" (class III strong verb; past tense sang, past participle sungen), from Proto-Germanic *sengwan (source also of Old Saxon singan, Old Frisian sionga, Middl
out
expressing motion or direction from within or from a central point, also removal from proper place or position, Old English ut "out, without, outside," from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Gothic ut, Middle Dutch uut, Dutch uit, Old High German uz, German

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