coffer

See also: Coffer

English

coffer (strongbox)

coffered ceiling (Pantheon, Rome)

Alternative forms

• copher (obsolete)
• cophre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɒfə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɔfɚ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑfɚ/
• Homophones: cougher
• Rhymes: -ɒfə(ɹ)

Noun

coffer (plural coffers)

1. A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.

   Synonym: strongbox

2. (architecture) An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome.

   Synonym: caisson

   • 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, p.135:

     Prolapsed and waterstained ceiling, the sagging coffers.

3. A cofferdam.
4. A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
   • Francis Bacon (Can we date this quote?)

     He would discharge it without any burden to the queen's coffers.

   • Shakespeare (Can we date this quote?)

     Hold, here is half my coffer.

   • 1909, John Claude White, Sikhim and Bhutan, page 26:

     The coffers were empty, and the first thing to be done was to devise some means by which we could raise a revenue.

5. A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.

Derived terms

• coffered ceiling

Translations

strongbox

• Bashkir: һандыҡ (handıq)
• Bulgarian: каса (bg) f (kasa), сейф (bg) m (sejf)
• Catalan: cofre (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 保險箱／保险箱 (zh) (bǎoxiǎnxiāng), 保险箱 (zh) (bǎoxiǎnxiāng)

• Czech: kasa (cs) f, pokladna (cs) f
• Finnish: kassa-arkku, kassalipas
• French: coffre (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Kassette (de) f, Geldkassette f, Tresor (de) m, Schatztruhe (de) f, Truhe (de) f, Kiste (de) f, Kasten (de) m
• Greek: σεντούκι (el) n (sentoúki), κασέλα (el) f (kaséla), μπαούλο (el) n (baoúlo), χρηματοκιβώτιο (el) n (chrimatokivótio)

  Ancient: χηλός f (khēlós)

• Italian: cofano (it) m, cofanetto (it) m, scrigno m, forziere (it) m
• Latin: arca f
• Portuguese: cofre (pt) m
• Russian: сунду́к (ru) m (sundúk), (safe) сейф (ru) m (sejf)
• Spanish: cofre (es) m
• Turkish: sandık (tr), kutu (tr), kasa (tr)

architecture: ornamental sunken panel

• Bulgarian: касе́та f (kaséta)
• Catalan: cassetó m
• Czech: kazeta (cs) f
• Finnish: kasetti (fi)
• French: caisson (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: Kassetten (de) f pl, Kassette (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient Greek: καλαθίσκος m (kalathískos)

• Italian: cassettone (it) m
• Swedish: kassett (sv) c

cofferdam — see cofferdam

supply or store of money

• Bulgarian: хазна (bg) f (hazna)
• Catalan: arques (ca) f pl
• Czech: kasa (cs) f
• Finnish: kassa (fi)
• German: Kasse (de) f
• Greek: ταμείο (el) n (tameío), κορβανάς (el) m (korvanás)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: kaso (io)
• Russian: казна́ (ru) f (kazná)
• Spanish: arcas (es)

Verb

coffer (third-person singular simple present coffers, present participle coffering, simple past and past participle coffered)

1. (transitive) To put money or valuables in a coffer
2. (transitive) To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.

Further reading

• coffer on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “coffer”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “coffer”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “coffer”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.