kerchief
verbEtymology From Middle English keverchef, coverchef et al., from Old French couvrechief, from couvrir (“to cover”) + chief (“head”). Compare curfew.
1
Dated To cover with a kerchief.
kerchief
nounUS /ˈkɝ.t͡ʃɪf/ · UK /ˈkɜː.tʃɪf/
Etymology From Middle English keverchef, coverchef et al., from Old French couvrechief, from couvrir (“to cover”) + chief (“head”). Compare curfew.
1
Dated A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a bandana.
- And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, / Had just settled down for a long winter's nap […]1823, Clement Clark Moore, The Night Before Christmas:
- “Well, did you find some?” she asked from under the white kerchief, turning her handsome, gently smiling face to him.1901 [1878], chapter 5, in Constance Garnett, transl., Anna Karenina, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, part 6:
- Derived terms
- display kerchief, handkerchief, headkerchief, kerchiefed, kerchieflike, neckerchief