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curch

[kurch]
noun
  1. a simple, close-fitting cap worn by women in colonial America.
  2. a kerchief worn by Scottish women.
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Origin of curch

1400–50; late Middle English kerche, c(o)urche, back formation from courche(i)s (plural) < Middle French couvrech(i)es, plural of couvrechef kerchief; the final e of the singular form, orig. long, was later lost
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for curch

Historical Examples

  • Curch, which is etymologically the same word, and means a covering for the head.

    The Lady of the Lake

    Sir Walter Scott

  • Some of these good women generally 'busk the bride's first curch.'

    Discipline

    Mary Brunton

  • It is then covered with the curch; a square piece of linen doubled diagonally, and passed round the head close to the forehead.

    Discipline

    Mary Brunton

  • A ribbon worn by Scotch lassies and upon marriage replaced by the matron's "curch" or cap.

    Lady of the Lake

    Sir Walter Scott

British Dictionary definitions for curch

curch

noun
  1. a woman's plain cap or kerchiefAlso called: curchef
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Word Origin

C15: probably back formation from courcheis (plural), from Old French couvrechies, plural of couvrechef kerchief
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012