Meaning

noun a flock of coots

noun a covering that serves to conceal or shelter something

adjective secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed

originFrom Middle English covert, from Old French covert, past participle of covrir (“to cover”) (corresponding to Latin coopertus); cognate to cover. Not closely related to overt, despite what the most common pronunciation would suggest.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0