scarf

English

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA: /skɑː(ɹ)f/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)f

Etymology 1

Probably from Old Northern French escarpe (cf. Old French escherpe (“pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck”)), possibly from Frankish *skirpja or of other Germanic origin (cf. Old Norse skreppa (“small bag, wallet, satchel”)). Alternatively from Medieval Latin scirpa (“little woven bag of rushes”), from Latin scirpus (“rush, bullrush”). . The verb is derived from the noun.

Noun

scarf (plural scarves or scarfs)

1. A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
2. A headscarf.
3. (dated) A neckcloth or cravat.

Translations

long garment worn around the neck

• Albanian: shall (sq)
• Arabic: وشاح (ar) (wišāḥ) m
• Armenian: շարֆ (hy) (šarf)
• Asturian: bufanda (ast) f
• Azeri: kaşne (az)
• Belarusian: шалік (be) (šálik) m, шарф (be) (šarf) m
• Bengali: স্কার্ফ (bn) (skarf)
• Breton: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: шал (bg) (šal) m
• Burmese: လည်စည်းပဝါ (my)
• Catalan: bufanda (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 領巾 (cmn), 领巾 (cmn) (lǐngjīn), 圍巾 (cmn), 围巾 (cmn) (wéijīn)

• Czech: šála (cs) f
• Danish: halstørklæde (da) n
• Dutch: das (nl) m
• Esperanto: skarpo (eo), koltuko (eo), kolskarpo (eo)
• Estonian: sall (et)
• Faroese: hálsturriklæði (fo) n
• Finnish: huivi (fi), kaulahuivi (fi)
• French: écharpe (fr) f, cache-nez (fr) m
• Friulian: please add this translation if you can
• Galician: bufanda (gl) f, tapabocas (gl) m
• Georgian: ფერდი (ka) (p'erdi)
• German: Schal (de) m
• Greek: κασκόλ (el) (kaskól)
• Hebrew: צעיף (he)
• Hungarian: sál (hu), nyaksál (hu)
• Icelandic: trefill (is) m
• Ido: sharpo (io)
• Interlingue: charpe (ie)
• Irish: scairf (ga) f, cochall (ga) m, muifléad (ga) m
• Italian: sciarpa (it) f
• Japanese: マフラー (ja) (mafurā), スカーフ (ja) (sukāfu), 襟巻き (ja) (えりまき, erimaki)
• Jèrriais: êcharpe f, mouoché m

• Khmer: កន្សែងរុំក (km) (kɑnsaeng rum kɑɑ)
• Korean: 목도리 (ko) (mokdori), 스카프 (ko) (seukapeu)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: مل به‌ست (ku)

• Latvian: šalle (lv) f
• Lithuanian: šalikas (lt) m
• Luxembourgish: Schal (lb) m
• Macedonian: шал (mk) (šal) m, шамија (mk) (šámija) f, марама (mk) (márama) f
• Maltese: xalla (mt) f
• Manx: bussal mwannal (gv) m
• Maori: kāmeta (mi)
• Navajo: asdzání bichʼah
• Norwegian: skjerf (no) n
• Novial: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: شال (fa) (šâl)
• Polish: szalik (pl) m
• Portuguese: cachecol (pt) m, echarpe (pt) f
• Romanian: eșarfă (ro) f, șal (ro) n
• Romansch: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: шарф (ru) (šarf) m, кашне (ru) (kašnɛ́) n (indeclinable), шаль (ru) (šalʹ) f (shawl), галстук (ru) (gálstuk) m (scout's or pioneer's scarf)
• Scottish Gaelic: guailleachan (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: шал (sh) m

  Roman: šal (sh) m

• Slovak: šál (sk) m
• Slovene: šal (sl) m
• Spanish: bufanda (es) f
• Swedish: halsduk (sv) c
• Thai: ผ้าพันคอ (th)
• Turkish: fular (tr)
• Ukrainian: шарф (uk) (šarf) m
• Vietnamese: khăn choàng cổ (vi)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: שאַל (yi) (shal) m

headscarf — see headscarf

Verb

scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)

1. To throw on loosely; to put on like a scarf.
   • 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2:

     My sea-gown scarfed about me.

2. To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping.

Etymology 2

Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old Norse skarfr, derivative of skera (“to cut”).

Noun

scarf (plural scarfs)

1. A type of joint in woodworking.
2. A groove on one side of a sewing machine needle.

Synonyms

• muffler

Verb

scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)

1. To shape by grinding.
2. To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, metal rods, etc.
3. To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint.

Etymology 3

Of imitative origin, or a variant of scoff. Alternatively from Old English sceorfan (“gnaw, bite”).

Verb

scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)

1. (transitive, US, slang) To eat very quickly.

   You sure scarfed that pizza.

Usage notes

The more usual form in the UK is scoff.

Derived terms

• scarf down

Translations

eat very quickly

• Dutch: schrokken (nl)
• Finnish: hotkia (fi), ahmia (fi)

• French: engouffrer (fr)
• Telugu: తినేయు (te) (tinEyu)

References

• scarf in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

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Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, whence also Old Saxon skarp, Old English scearp, Old Norse skarpr. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb(h), from *(s)ker- (“to cut”).

Adjective

scarf

1. sharp

Descendants

• German: scharf