Crossword Genius

Cover the woman without passion (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sheathe

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'cover' is the definition.
(to sheathe something is to cover it)

'woman without passion' is the wordplay.
'woman' becomes 'she'.
'without passion' becomes 'athe' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'she'+'athe'='SHEATHE'

'the' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sheathe that I've seen before include "Protective cover, for sword say" , "Cover in case" , "Put away (a sword)" , "Put (a sword) into case" , "Put (a sword) it its cover" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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