Wordwyrt

kerchief

/ˈkɜːtʃəf/KUR-chuhf
/ˈkɝtʃəf/KUR-chuhf

Meaninglater couvre-chef

Common meaning: a cloth worn over the head or neck

Journey through time

  1. Old Frenchcovre-chef‘later couvre-chef’source
  2. Middle Englishmeaning shiftslater couvre-chef → head coveringcoverchef‘head covering’source
  3. Englishkerchief‘a cloth worn over the head or neck’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old French covre-chef ‘later couvre-chef’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry KERCHIEF, p. 313 · dictionary scan

Roots

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app