cuff

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The end part of a sleeve, around the wrist.

   He rolled up his shirt cuffs before washing the dishes.

2. 2
   verb

   To put handcuffs on someone.

   The officer cuffed the suspect and led him to the car.

3. 3
   verb

   To hit someone lightly with an open hand, usually on the head.

   She playfully cuffed him on the ear for his joke.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Cuff first meant “a glove or mitten” in late Middle English before coming to denote the end of a sleeve; its origin is unknown. The verb cuff, meaning “hit or punch,” appeared in the mid-16th century and is also of unknown origin, with no apparent connection to the clothing word.

1520, “to hit”, apparently of North Germanic origin, from Norwegian kuffa (“to push, shove”) or Swedish kuffa (“to knock, thrust, strike”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”). Germanic cognates include Low German kuffen (“to box the ears”), German kuffen (“to thrash”). More at scuff, shove, scuffle.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary