doff
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doff
- /dɒf/ UK
- /dɔf/ US
- /dɑf/ US, cot caught merger
Rhymes with -ɒf
Where it comes from
PIE word
*h₂epó
The verb is derived from Late Middle English doffen (“to take off (clothing); to remove (headwear) as a sign of respect; to remove (grease) by skimming”), a contraction of Middle English do off, don off, from Old English dōn of, from dōn (“to do; to put; to take off, remove”) + of (“from; off”). Dōn is derived from Proto-West Germanic *dōn (“to do; to place, put”), from Proto-Germanic *dōną (“to do; to make; to place, put”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”). By surface analysis, do + off. Compare don (by surface analysis, do + on), dout (do + out), dup (do + up).
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb doffs · doffing · doffed · doff
- To remove or take off (something worn on the body such as armour or clothing, or something carried). […] Calidore perceiuing, thought it beſt / To chaunge the manner of his loftie looke; / And doffing his bright armes, himſelfe addreſt / In ſhepheards vveed, and in his hand he tooke, / In ſtead of ſteelehead ſpeare, a ſhepheards hooke, […]
- To remove or tip (a hat or other headwear) in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect. The rustics doffed their hats at the clergy.
- To undress (oneself); to divest, to strip. VVhy art thou troubled Herod? vvhat vaine feare / Thy blood-revolving Breſt to rage doth move? / Heavens King, vvho doffs himſelfe vveake fleſh to vveare, / Comes not to rule in vvrath, but ſerve in love.
- To cast aside or get rid of (something), to throw off. Doff that stupid idea: it will never work.
- To remove (a bobbin or spindle which is full of spun yarn) from a spinning frame for replacement with an empty one.
- To remove (small pieces of cotton or other plant fibre, etc.) from a carding cylinder.
- To put off or turn away (someone) with an excuse, etc. Euery day, thou dofftſt me, vvith ſome deuiſe Iago; / And rather, as it ſeemes to me, thou keepeſt from me, / All conueniency, then ſupplieſt me, vvith the leaſt / Aduantage of hope: […]
- To remove or tip a hat or other headwear in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect. And [the goose] feeding high, and living soft, / Grew plump and able-bodied; / Until the grave churchwarden doff'd, / The parson smirk'd and nodded.
- Followed by with: to remove or take off something worn on the body, or something carried. VVhy, look'ye, Major Sturgeon, I don't much care for your poppers and ſharpes, becauſe vvhy, they are out of my vvay; but if you vvill doff vvith your boots, and box a couple of bouts.
noun doffs
- Followed by off: an act of putting off or turning away someone with an excuse, etc. Faith, Lelia has een giuen him the doff off here, and has made hir father almoſt ſtarke mad.
Translations
Talk about this word "doff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/doff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. doff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/doff "doff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/doff.Cite this
@misc{doff_2026,
title = {doff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/doff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
