coif
1Origin of coif
1- Also coiffe [kwahf] /kwɑf/ .
Other definitions for coif (2 of 2)
a hood-shaped cap, usually of white cloth and with extended sides, worn beneath a veil, as by nuns.
any of various hoodlike caps, varying through the centuries in shape and purpose, worn by men and women.
a cap similar to a skullcap, formerly worn by sergeants at law.
Armor. a covering for the head and neck, made of leather, padded cloth, or mail.
British. the rank or position of a sergeant at law.
to cover or dress with or as with a coif.
Origin of coif
2- Also coiffe [koif] /kɔɪf/ .
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use coif in a sentence
The old bankers, with their perfect coifs and slim-cut suits, are out; the new banker, with his bad hair and baggy jeans, is in.
The big Marachins seized their partners and sprang them so high that their muslin coifs touched the ceiling.
Autumn Glory | Ren BazinIn their gala dresses they knelt on the muddy bank, their coifs and aprons blown about in the wind.
Autumn Glory | Ren BazinNuns with whitewashed faces, cool coifs and their rosaries going up and down, vindictive too for what they can't get.
Ulysses | James JoyceWe afterwards remarked numbers of women, equally devoid of coifs and cleanliness.
First Impressions on a Tour upon the Continent | Marianne Baillie
The little chapel on the cliffs was stuffed with kneeling women in their stiff, starched coifs and heavy velvet-trimmed skirts.
One Woman's Life | Robert Herrick
British Dictionary definitions for coif
/ (kɔɪf) /
a close-fitting cap worn under a veil, worn in the Middle Ages by many women but now only by nuns
any similar cap, such as a leather cap worn under a chain-mail hood
(formerly in England) the white cap worn by a serjeant at law
a base for the elaborate women's headdresses of the 16th century
(kwɑːf) a less common word for coiffure (def. 1)
to cover with or as if with a coif
(kwɑːf) to arrange (the hair)
Origin of coif
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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