Word.ws English Dictionary

covie

Syllables: cov·ie/ˈkʌvi/

covie is the obsolete spelling of covey.

covie is the alternative spelling of covey.

Meaning of covey

Noun (1)

covey (plural covies or coveys)

  1. A brood or family of partridges (family Phasianidae), which includes game birds such as grouse (tribe Tetraonini) and ptarmigans (tribe Tetraonini, genus Lagopus).
    • But, loa, with a ſuddeyn fluſhing thee galligut Harpeys / From mountayns flitter, with gaggling whirlerye flapping / Their wings: […] This coouie rauenouſe, and ſwift with a deſperat onſet, / They gripte in tallants the meat, and foorth ſpourged a ſtincking / Foule carrayne fauoure: […][1582, Virgil, “The Third Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: […] Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC...
  2. (broadly) A group of other birds, such as quail (superfamily Phasianoidea).
    • Like when you quail huntin' and it's getting dark and you can hear the boss bird whistlin' tryin' to get the covey together again, and he's coming toward you slow and whistlin' soft, cause he knows you somewhere around with your gun.1952 April 14, Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man (A Signet Book; Y3814), New York, N.Y.: New American Library, published 1952, →OCLC, page 52
  3. (broadly, figuratively) A group or party of people; also, a group or set of things.
    • [T]here is not a better Spanniell in England to spring a couie of queanes than Martin.[1589], [John Lyly], Pappe with an Hatchet. Alias, A Figge for My God Sonne. […], London: […] Iohn Anoke, and Iohn Astile, for the Bayliue of Withernam [T. Orwin], […], →OCLC; republished as Pap with...

Noun (2)

covey (plural coveys)

  1. (UK, dated, familiar, slang) A male person, a man; a chap, a chappie.
    • I don't know what would become of these here young chaps, if it wasn't for such careful old coveys as we are— […]1821 September (first performance), William T[homas] Moncrieff, “Tom and Jerry; or, Life in London”, in Selection from the Dramatic Works of William T. Moncrieff. […], volume III, London: Hailes...
    Synonyms:
    bloke, cove, fellow, guy, boy, bro, broski, bruh, cat, chap

See all 6 meanings of covey

Verb

covie (third-person singular simple present covies, present participle covying, simple past and past participle covied)

  1. (also, ambitransitive, figuratively, obsolete) Synonym of cove (“of a bird or other animal: to brood, cover, incubate, or sit over (eggs)”).
    • Their [tortoises'] manner is to go aland, vvhere among the graſſe they lay egges as bigge as birds egs, to the number commonly of an hundred. […] [I]n the night time ſit upon them: they couvie a whole yeere before they hatch.1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book IX.] Of Sea Tortoises, and How They are Taken.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall...
    • Darling, of all the sweet thoughts that ever covied in thy heart and took wing from thy pretty lips, that is to me the noblest, sweetest, best.1869, A[manda] M[etcalf] Bright, “The Cascade”, in The Three Bernices; or, Ansermo of the Crag, Philadelphia, Pa.: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger, […], →OCLC, page 87
    Synonyms:
    cove

Synonyms of covie

Forms of covie

Noun
pluralcovies
Verb
third-person singular presentcovies
present participlecovying
past participlecovied
pastcovied
alternative formcouvey

Origin of covie

See covey.

A variant of couve, cove, possibly influenced by covey (“brood or family of partridges”).

Words that rhyme with covie

Questions about covie

What does covie mean?
Covie means synonym of cove (“of a bird or other animal: to brood, cover, incubate, or sit over (eggs)”).
What is covie the obsolete spelling of?
Covie is the obsolete spelling of covey.
What part of speech is covie?
Covie is a verb.
How do you pronounce covie?
Covie is pronounced /ˈkʌvi/ (UK).
What is the past tense of covie?
The past tense of covie is covied.

Words near covie in the dictionary

  1. COVIDlike
  2. Covidly
  3. covids
  4. COVIDtide
  5. covidy
  6. covie
  7. covied
  8. Coviello
  9. Coviellos
  10. covies
  11. covil

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: covie (page history and authors); covey (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-covey (u).wav.

Cite this entry: “covie.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/covie. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.