scarf
English
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /skɑːf/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "US" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /skɑːɹf/
Audio (AU): (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)f
Etymology 1
Probably from Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 2 should be a valid language, etymology language or family code; the value "ONF." is not valid. See WT:LOL, WT:LOL/E and WT:LOF. (compare Old French escharpe (“pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck”)). The verb is derived from the noun.
Noun
scarf (plural scarves or scarfs)
- A long, often knitted, garment worn around the neck.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 2, in The China Governess[1]:
- Now that she had rested and had fed from the luncheon tray Mrs. Broome had just removed, she had reverted to her normal gaiety. She looked cool in a grey tailored cotton dress with a terracotta scarf and shoes and her hair a black silk helmet.
- A headscarf.
- (dated) A neckcloth or cravat.
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Welsh: sgarff
Translations
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Verb
scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)
- 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.
- 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2:
- To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping.
Etymology 2
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/NotchedScarfJoint.png/220px-NotchedScarfJoint.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Sewing-machine-needles-types.jpg/220px-Sewing-machine-needles-types.jpg)
Of uncertain origin. Possibly from Old Norse skarfr, derivative of skera (“to cut”).
Noun
scarf (plural scarfs)
- A type of joint in woodworking.
- A groove on one side of a sewing machine needle.
- A dip or notch or cut made in the trunk of a tree to direct its fall when felling.
Synonyms
Translations
Verb
scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)
- To shape by grinding.
- To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, forming a "V" groove for welding adjacent metal plates, metal rods, etc.
- To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint.
Etymology 3
Generally thought to be a variant, attested since the 1950s, of scoff (“eat (quickly)”) (of which scorf is another attested variant), itself a variant of scaff.[1][2] Sometimes alternatively suggested to be a dialectal survival of Old English scearfian, sceorfan (“gnaw, bite”) (compare scurf).[3]
Verb
scarf (third-person singular simple present scarfs, present participle scarfing, simple past and past participle scarfed)
- (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
Translations
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Etymology 4
Noun
scarf
References
- ^ “scarf”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
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- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “scarf”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- “scarf”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Old High German
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, whence also Old Saxon skarp, Old English scearp, Old Norse skarpr. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”).
Adjective
scarf
Descendants
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɑː(ɹ)f
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- English terms with quotations
- English dated terms
- English verbs
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English transitive verbs
- American English
- English slang
- English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals
- Scottish English
- en:Clothing
- en:Neckwear
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German adjectives