From Old English 'cofa' (chamber/cave), the meaning shifted from enclosed room to sheltered bay.
A small, sheltered bay or coastal inlet, typically with a narrow entrance.
From Old English 'cofa' meaning 'chamber, cave, den,' from Proto-Germanic *kubō. The sense shifted from an enclosed interior space to a sheltered recess in a coastline by the 1580s. Key roots: *kubō (Proto-Germanic: "enclosed space, hollow").
The British slang 'cove' meaning 'a fellow' is a separate word entirely, borrowed from Romani 'kova' (that man).