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coif

English · Română

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coif¹

  • /kwɑf/
  • /kɔɪf/

Sounds like quaff · Rhymes with -ɒf, -ɔɪf

Where it comes from

From Middle English coif, coife, coyf, coyfe, coyffe, from Old French coife, coiffe, from Late Latin cofia, from Proto-West Germanic *kuppju, related to Old High German kupphia, kupha, kupfe (“mug, hood, cap”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuppju, from Proto-Germanic *kuppijǭ (“cap, hat, bonnet, headpiece”), Proto-Germanic *kuppō (“vat, mug, cup”), from pre-Germanic *kubná-, from Proto-Indo-European *gup- (“round object, knoll”), from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch, vault”). Cognate with Middle High German kupfe (“cap, headgear, helmet”).

noun coifs · coiffe · quiff · quaff · quoife

  1. A hairdo. He decides to muscle in on the act, styling his hair after Kirk’s signature coif (“the stupidest haircut I’ve ever seen,” says one character), trolling college girls on social media and proclaiming himself a “master-debater”.
  2. historical A hood; a close-fitting cap covering much of the head, widespread until the 18th century; after that worn only by small children and country women.
  3. historical A similar item of mail armour covering the head.
  4. An official headdress, such as that worn by certain judges in England. From point and saucy ermine down / To the plain coif and russet gown.

coif²

  • /kwɑf/
  • /kɔɪf/

Sounds like quaff · Rhymes with -ɒf, -ɔɪf

Where it comes from

From Middle English coifen, from Old French coifier, from the noun (see above).

verb coifs · coiffing · coifing · coiffed · coifed

  1. transitive To style or arrange hair. Circe’s this craft, the trim-coifed goddess.

Translations

Every language

noun hairdo

Françaiscoiffure
Русскийпричёска pričóska

noun hood

Españolcofia
Portuguêscoifa, capuz
Françaiscoiffe
DeutschBundhaube
Русскийша́почка šápočka, чепе́ц čepéc
עבריתשָׁבִיס shavís

noun chain mail headgear

Españolcofia, almófar
Portuguêscoifa
DeutschKettenhaube

verb to style hair

Русскийпричёсывать pričósyvatʹ

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"coif." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/coif. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

coif. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/coif

Chicago

"coif." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/coif.

BibTeX
@misc{coif_2026,
  title = {coif},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/coif},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}