goffer

[gof-er]

noun

an ornamental plaiting used for frills and borders, as on women's caps.

verb (used with object)

to flute (a frill, ruffle, etc.), as with a heated iron.

Also gauf·fer

[gaw-fer, gof-er] /ˈgɔ fər, ˈgɒf ər/.

Origin of goffer

1700–10; < French gaufre waffle < Middle Dutch wāfel waffle¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for goffer

Historical Examples of goffer

Hence our verb to goffer, to give a cellular appearance to a frill.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)
Ernest Weekley
Dr. Fellowes had the kindness to give me a goffer (a large field-mouse), undoubtedly Diplostoma bulbivorum.
Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834, Part III (the Text Being Chapters XXVIII-XXXIII of the London Edition, 1843, and the Appendix a Combination of the Appendices of the London and German [Coblentz, 1839] Editions)
Maximilian, Prinz von Wied
A new mortification for poor Cinderella, for it was she who had to iron her sisters' fine linen, and goffer their ruffles.
Tales of Passed Times
Charles Perrault

British Dictionary definitions for goffer

goffer

gauffer

verb (tr)

to press pleats into (a frill)
to decorate (the gilt edges of a book) with a repeating pattern

noun

an ornamental frill made by pressing pleats
the decoration formed by goffering books
the iron or tool used in making goffers

Word Origin for goffer

C18: from French gaufrer to impress a pattern, from gaufre, from Middle Low German wāfel; see waffle 1, wafer

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