What does "cover" mean?

Additional senses

1. 2.To invest (one's self with something); to bring upon (one's self); as, he covered himself with glory. The powers that covered themselves with everlasting infamy by the partition of Poland. Brougham.
2. 3.To hide sight; to conceal; to cloak; as, the snemy were covered from our sight by the woods. A cloud covered the mount. Exod. xxiv.
3. 4.In vain shou striv'st to cover shame with shame. Milton.
4. 5.To brood or sit on; to incubate. While the hen is covering her eggs, the male . . . diverts her with his songs. Addison.
5. 6.To overwhelm; to spread over. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen. Ex. xiv.
6. 7.7. To shelter, as from evil or danger; to protect; to defend; as, the cavalry covered the retreat. His calm and blameless life Does with substantial blessedness abound, And the soft wings of peace cover him round. Cowley.
7. 8.To remove from remembrance; to put away; to remit."Blessed is he whose is covered." Ps. xxxii.
8. 9.9. To extend over; to be sufficient for; to comprehend, include, or embrace; to account for or solve; to counterbalance; as, a mortgage which fully covers a sum loaned on it; a law which covers all possible cases of a crime; receipts than do not cover expenses.
9. 10.To put the usual covering or headdress on. Cover thy head . . . ; nay, prithee, be covered. Shak.
10. 11.To copulate with (a female); to serve; as. a horse covers a mare; -- said of the male. To cover ground or distance, to pass over; as, the rider covered the ground in an hour. -- To cover one's short contracts (Stock Exchange), to buy stock when the market rises, as a dealer who has sold short does in order to protect himself. -- Covering party (Mil.), a detachment of troops sent for the protection of another detachment, as of men working in the trenches. -- To cover into, to transfer to; as, to cover into the treasury.
11. 12.Anything which is laid, set, or spread, upon, about, or over, another thing; an envelope; a lid; as, the cover of a book.
12. 13.Anything which weils or conceals; a screen; disguise; a cloack. "Under cover of the night." Macualay. A hendsome cover for imperfections. Collier.
13. 14.Shelter; protection; as, the troops fought under cover of the batteries; the woods afforded a good cover. Being compelled to lodge in the field . . . whilst his army was under cover, they might be forced to retire. Clarendon.
14. 15.(Huntig) The woods, underbrush, etc., which shelter and conceal game; covert; as, to beat a cover; to ride to cover.
15. 16.That portion of a slate, tile, or shingle, which is hidden by the overlap of the course above. Knight.
16. 17.(Steam Engine) The lap of a slide valve.
17. 18.Etym: [Cf. F. couvert.] A tablecloth, and the other table furniture; esp., the table furniture for the use of one person at a meal; as, covers were laid for fifty guests. To break cover, to start from a covert or lair; -- said of game. -- Under cover, in an envelope, or within a letter; -- said of a written message. Letters . . . dispatched under cover to her ladyship. Thackeray.
18. 19.To spread a table for a meal; to prepare a banquet. [Obs.] Shak.