US /kwɑːf/ UK /kwɑːf/
noun verb Freq #94263

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a close-fitting cap or headdress, especially one formerly worn by women, nuns, soldiers, or lawyers

    The nun's white coif framed her face beneath the veil.

  2. 2
    noun

    an arrangement or style of hair

    Her elaborate coif was pinned securely for the ceremony.

  3. 3
    verb

    to arrange the hair or cover the head with a coif

    The attendant coifed the actor in the fashion of the period.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a close-fitting cap or... capheaddress
2 noun · an arrangement or style of... hairstylehairdo
3 verb · to arrange the hair or... styledress
Word family
Forms coifs
Derived forms coiffedcoiffing
Related forms coiffurehood

Etymology

From Middle English coif, from Old French coife, 'cap or head covering,' ultimately related to Germanic words for a rounded vessel or cap. The hair-arrangement sense developed from the headdress sense.

Topics

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