kerchief
Americannoun
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a woman's square scarf worn as a covering for the head or sometimes the shoulders.
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a handkerchief.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of kerchief
1250–1300; Middle English kerchef, syncopated variant of keverchef < Old French cuevrechef literally, (it) covers (the) head. See cover, chief
Explanation
A kerchief is a small piece of fabric, usually folded into a triangle, that's worn around the neck or tied around the head. Your nephew might insist on wearing his red kerchief and cowboy boots everyday to preschool. Another word for a kerchief is a bandana. While some people wear them as protection from the sun or to cover their hair for religious reasons, many kerchief wearers simply like the style. The word comes from an Old French root, couvrechief, which literally means "cover head," from a combination of couvrir, "cover," and chief, "head." Related words include neckerchief and handkerchief.
Vocabulary lists containing kerchief
The Devil's Arithmetic
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A Lesson Before Dying
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Out of the Dust
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
And as early as 1617, when the teenage Velázquez painted a kitchen maid with umber skin and a white kerchief, Spain clearly had developed an art market for paintings depicting people of color.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
Models in white platform boots sported shiny looks like a glistening dress in cobalt blue with a matching kerchief tied at the neck.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 27, 2022
He’s wearing a sequined jacket with sparkly pink flamingos on it, a white cowboy hat and a pink silk kerchief around his neck.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2022
They ranged in age from elderly women to a pre-teen girl, who wore a green kerchief wrapped around her neck.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 13, 2019
She bathed and put on a fresh dress and head kerchief and went on to the store before Jody had time to send for her.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
