A veil is an article of clothing, worn almost exclusively by women, that is intended to cover some part of the head or face.
One view is that as a religious item, it is intended to show honor to an object or space. The actual sociocultural, psychological, and sociosexual functions of veils have not been studied extensively but most likely include the maintenance of social distance and the communication of social status and cultural identity. In Islamic society, various forms of the veil have been adopted from the Arab culture in which Islam arose.
Read more about Veil: History, Religion, Hats, Wedding Veils, Dance, Courtesans, Male Veils, Etymology
Famous quotes containing the word veil:
“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
“It is not an arbitrary “decree of God,” but in the nature of man, that a veil shuts down on the facts of to-morrow; for the soul will not have us read any other cipher than that of cause and effect. By this veil, which curtains events, it instructs the children of men to live in to-day.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“For even within his tent she accomplished his derision;
She loosed one veil and another, standing unafraid;
And he perished.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)