tectrix

tec·trix

 (tĕk′trĭks)

n. pl. tec·tri·ces (-trĭ-sēz′)

One of the coverts of a bird's wing.

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[Latin tēctrīx, feminine of tēctor, plasterer, from tēctus, past participle of tegere, to cover; see (s)teg- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tectrix

(ˈtɛktrɪks)

n, pl tectrices (ˈtɛktrɪˌsiːz; tɛkˈtraɪsiːz)

(Zoology) (usually plural) ornithol another name for covert⁶

[C19: New Latin, from Latin tector plasterer, from tegere to cover]

tectricial adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

co•vert

(adj. ˈkoʊ vərt, ˈkʌv ərt; n. ˈkʌv ərt, ˈkoʊ vərt)

adj.

1. concealed; secret; disguised.

2. covered; sheltered.

3. (of a wife) under the legal protection of a husband.

n.

4. a covering; cover.

5. a shelter or hiding place.

6. concealment or disguise.

7. a thicket giving shelter to wild animals or game.

8. Also called tectrix. one of the small feathers that cover the bases of the large feathers of a bird's wings and tail.

[1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin coopertus, past participle of cooperīre to cover completely; see cover]

co′vert•ly, adv.

co′vert•ness, n.

pron: covert has historically been pronounced (ˈkʌv ərt) with stressed (u), the vowel heard in cover, mother, some, and many other similarly spelled English words. As an adjective, however, covert, by analogy with overt (oʊˈvɜrt, ˈoʊ vərt) its semantic opposite, has developed the pronunciation (ˈkoʊ vərt) and this is the more common pronunciation in American English. For the noun, (ˈkʌv ərt) remains the more frequent pronunciation.

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