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Fine Dictionary

kerchief

ˈkərʧəf
WordNet
Coeffure adorned with a tulle kerchief edged in blonde and a rose. Printed batiste dresses. Embroidered organdy hair wraps edged with tulle.
Coeffure adorned with a tulle kerchief edged in blonde and a rose. Printed batiste dresses. Embroidered organdy hair wraps edged with tulle.
  1. (n) kerchief
    a square scarf that is folded into a triangle and worn over the head or about the neck
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
  1. Kerchief
    A lady who wears a kerchief.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  1. (n) kerchief
    A head-dress composed of a simple square or oblong piece of linen, silk, or other material, worn folded, tied, pinned, or otherwise fastened about the head, or more or less loosely attached, so as to cover or drape the head and shoulders. Some traces of its early form and use still survive in the costumes of different parts of Europe, especially among the country people.
  2. (n) kerchief
    A similar square of linen, cotton, or silk, worn on or used about the person for other purposes than covering the head. Compare handkerchief, neckerchief, and napkin.
  3. (n) kerchief
    One who wears a kerchief; a woman.
  4. kerchief
    To attire with a kerchief; hood.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
  1. (n) Kerchief
    kėr′chif any loose cloth used in dress:
  2. (v.t) Kerchief
    to cover or dress with a kerchief
  3. (n) Kerchief
    kėr′chif (orig.) a square piece of cloth worn by women to cover the head
Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary OE. coverchef, OF. cuevrechief, couvrechef, F. couvrechef, a head covering, fr. couvrir, to cover + OF. chief, head, F. chef,. See Cover Chief, and cf. Curfew

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary M. E. couerchef—O. Fr. covrechef (Fr. couvrechef)—covrir, to cover, chef, the head.

Usage in the news

Jet black above and snowy white below, with a kerchief of rose-red across its breast , the male looks like no other bird. birdersworld.com

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, kerchiefed songster . birdersworld.com

In the market for a handbag or kerchief. delawaretoday.com

The stereotype of 4-H and FFA conjures images of kids in kerchiefs showing livestock at the county fair. sonomanews.com

Usage in literature

In his left hand he carried a small bundle, wrapped in a knotted blue kerchief: his right he waved submissively towards Captain Pond. "Wandering Heath" by Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

She in a shawl and a kerchief over her head and he in a cape and a slouch hat. "Woman Triumphant" by Vicente Blasco Ibañez

Dark-eyed women, with orange or crimson kerchiefs for headgear, cross and re-cross, bearing baskets on their shoulders. "Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Vol III." by John Symonds

Dark-eyed women, with orange or crimson kerchiefs for headgear, cross and re-cross, bearing baskets on their shoulders. "Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Complete" by John Symonds

In Egypt a shoulder cape, with kerchief effect in front, broadened behind to a square, and reached to the waist line. "Woman as Decoration" by Emily Burbank

This kerchief was his ensign of sleep. "Christmas" by Various

Then she looked more closely, and he knew that she had noticed the kerchief. "Dick the Bank Boy" by Frank V. Webster

The snowy kerchief folded across her bosom and the big mob cap on her head are precisely like those in the portraits of the colonial lady. "Sir Joshua Reynolds" by Estelle M. Hurll

The "kerchief" was originally a covering for the head. "Stories That Words Tell Us" by Elizabeth O'Neill

She started up before him, her face very much increased in color, and she folded her arms above her kerchief. "Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 22. October, 1878." by Various

Usage in poetry
Cyprian, in my dream
the folds of a purple
kerchief shadowed
your cheeks —- the one
The tumult of the waterfalls,
Pohono's kerchief in the breeze,
The waving from the rocky walls,
The stir and rustle of the trees;
I can see a ship come sailing in
Beyond the headlands and harbor of Lynn,
And a young man standing on the deck,
With a silken kerchief round his neck.
"Where I was almost weeping; I dared not
Weep quite in those days, lest one maid should say,
In tittering whispers: 'Where is Launcelot
To wipe with some kerchief those tears away?'
To the cockpit in silence they carried him past,
And sad were the looks that were after him cast;
His face with a kerchief he tried to conceal,
But we knew him too well from the truck to the keel.
Who deign not to clipper their own dainty feet,
Whose wants swarthy handmaids stand ready to meet,
Whose fingers decline the light kerchief to hem,--
What aid in this struggle is hoped for from them?