'uncovering' originates from English, specifically formed from the prefix 'un-' plus the verb 'cover', where 'un-' meant 'reverse/removal' and 'cover' traces back to Old French 'covrir' (modern French 'couvrir') and ultimately to Latin 'cooperire'.

'uncovering' developed from the verb 'uncover' (Middle English forms such as 'uncovren'), itself formed by adding the prefix 'un-' to 'cover'; the nominalizing suffix '-ing' produced the noun 'uncovering'.

Initially, the components meant 'to reverse the action of covering' (literally removing a cover), but over time the term has also come to mean 'the act of revealing or discovering information' in both literal and figurative contexts.