conceal

The verb "conceal" has a journey of hidden meanings. It was adopted into Middle English from the Old French conceler, which itself evolved from the Latin verb concēlāre, meaning "to hide completely, keep secret." This Latin term is a compound of the intensive prefix con- (meaning "altogether") and the verb cēlāre (meaning "to hide"). The core notion of hiding, carried by cēlāre, can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root ḱel-, which conveyed the sense of "cover" or "conceal," a concept also present in words like "cell," "hall," and "helmet." Thus, the modern English word retains the ancient logic of covering something up to keep it from view or knowledge.

The word is a simplex form. It entered English as a single unit from Old French conceler, meaning "to hide, disguise, keep secret." Its functional role is as a complete verb.