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Webster 1913 Edition

Cuff

Cuff

(k?f)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Cuffed
(k[GREEK]ft)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Cuffing
.]
[Cf. Sw.
kuffa
to knock, push,
kufva
to check, subdue, and E.
cow
, v. t. ]
1.
To strike; esp., to smite with the palm or flat of the hand; to slap.
I swear I’ll
cuff
you, if you strike again.
Shakespeare
They with their quills did all the hurt they could,
And
cuffed
the tender chickens from their food.
Dryden.
2.
To buffet.
“Cuffed by the gale.”
Tennyson.

Cuff

,
Verb.
I.
To fight; to scuffle; to box.
While the peers
cuff
to make the rabble sport.
Dryden.

Cuff

,
Noun.
A blow; esp.,, a blow with the open hand; a box; a slap.
Snatcheth his sword, and fiercely to him flies;
Who well it wards, and quitten
cuff
with
cuff
.
Spenser.
Many a bitter kick and
cuff
.
Hudibras.

Cuff

,
Noun.
[Perh. from F.
coiffe
headdress, hood, or coif; as if the cuff were a cap for the hand. Cf.
Coif
.]
1.
The fold at the end of a sleeve; the part of a sleeve turned back from the hand.
He would visit his mistress in a morning gown, band, short
cuffs
, and a peaked beard.
Arbuthnot.
2.
Any ornamental appendage at the wrist, whether attached to the sleeve of the garment or separate; especially, in modern times, such an appendage of starched linen, or a substitute for it of paper, or the like.

Webster 1828 Edition

Cuff

CUFF

,
Noun.
[L.,Gr.]
1.
A blow with the fist; a stroke; a box.
2.
It is used of fowls that fight with their talons.
To be at fisty-cuffs, to fight with blows of the fist.

CUFF

,
Verb.
T.
To strike with the fist, as a man; or with talons or wings, as a fowl.

CUFF

,
Verb.
I.
To fight; to scuffle.

CUFF

,
Noun.
[This word probably signifies a fold or doubling.] The fold at the end of a sleeve; the part of a sleeve turned back from the hand.

Definition 2024

cuff

cuff

English

Noun

cuff ‎(plural cuffs)

  1. (obsolete) glove; mitten.
  2. The end of a shirt sleeve that covers the wrist.
  3. The end of a pants leg, folded up.
Translations
Related terms

Verb

cuff ‎(third-person singular simple present cuffs, present participle cuffing, simple past and past participle cuffed)

  1. (transitive) To furnish with cuffs.
  2. (transitive) To handcuff.
Translations

Etymology 2

1520, “to hit”, apparently of North Germanic origin, from Norwegian kuffa ‎(“to push, shove”) or Swedish kuffa ‎(“to knock, thrust, strike”). Related to Low German kuffen ‎(“to box the ears”), German kuffen ‎(“to thrash”). Perhaps related also to Swedish skuffa ‎(“to push, shove”). More at scuff, shove, scuffle.

Verb

cuff ‎(third-person singular simple present cuffs, present participle cuffing, simple past and past participle cuffed)

  1. (transitive) To hit, as a reproach, particularly with the open palm to the head; to slap.
    • Shakespeare
      I swear I'll cuff you, if you strike again.
    • Dryden
      They with their quills did all the hurt they could, / And cuffed the tender chickens from their food.
  2. (intransitive) To fight; to scuffle; to box.
    • Dryden
      While the peers cuff to make the rabble sport.
  3. To buffet.
    • Tennyson
      cuffed by the gale
Translations

Noun

cuff ‎(plural cuffs)

  1. A blow, especially with the open hand; a box; a slap.
    • Spenser
      Snatcheth his sword, and fiercely to him flies; / Who well it wards, and quitten cuff with cuff.
    • Hudibras
      Many a bitter kick and cuff.

Etymology

From Middle English cuffe, coffe ‎(“glove, mitten”), of obscure origin. Perhaps from Old English cuffie ‎(“hood, cap”), from Medieval Latin cofia, cofea, cuffa, cuphia ‎(“helmet, headdress, hood, cap”), from Frankish *kuf(f)ja ‎(“headdress”), from Proto-Germanic *kupjō ‎(“cap”). Cognate with Middle High German kupfe ‎(“cap”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /kʌf/
  • Rhymes: -ʌf

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