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coif

 
Dictionary: coif   (koif) pronunciation
 
n.
  1. (also kwäf) A coiffure.
  2. A tight-fitting cap worn under a veil, as by nuns.
  3. A white skullcap formerly worn by English lawyers.
  4. A heavy skullcap of steel or leather, formerly worn under a helmet or mail hood.
tr.v., coifed, coif·ing, coifs.
  1. (also kwäf) To arrange or dress (the hair).
  2. To cover with or as if with a coif.

[Middle English, from Old French coife, from Late Latin cofea, helmet, of Germanic origin.]


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Law Dictionary: Coif
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Headdress formerly worn by English sergeants at law. "Order of the Coif" is an honorary legal fraternity in the United States.

 
WordNet: coif
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a skullcap worn by nuns under a veil or by soldiers under a hood of mail or formerly by British sergeants-at-law


The verb coif has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: cover with a coif

Meaning #2: arrange attractively
  Synonyms: dress, arrange, set, do, coiffe, coiffure


 
Wikipedia: Coif
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Medieval coif as worn by Aaron of Sur.
Detail of Edward VI as a child by Holbein, 1538. He wears a linen coif under a cloth-of-gold coif and a feathered hat.

A coif (pronounced /ˈkɔɪf/) is a close fitting cap that covers the top, back, and sides of the head, worn by all classes in England and Scotland from the Middle Ages to the early seventeenth century (and later as an old-fashioned cap for countrywomen and young children).

Tudor (later Stewart in Scotland) and earlier coifs are usually made of unadorned white linen and tie under the chin. In the Elizabethan and early Jacobean eras, coifs were frequently decorated with blackwork embroidery and lace edging.

Coifs were also worn by an extinct senior grade of English lawyer, the Serjeant-at-Law. A United States law school honor society, the Order of the Coif, is named after this use of the coif.

Coifs were worn under gable hoods and hats of all sorts, and alone as indoor headcoverings.

Coifs were also a type of armour, traditionally made of mail, which covered the head (face excluded), neck and shoulders.

In modern days, women of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or FLDS are said[citation needed] to have worn this along with their conservative style of dress.

See also

References

  • George Wingfield Digby. Elizabethan Embroidery. New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1964.

External links



 
 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Law Dictionary. Law Dictionary. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coif" Read more