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scarf¹

(skärf)

n. pl. scarves(skärvz) or scarfs (skärfs)

1. A long piece of cloth worn about the head, neck, or shoulders.

2. A decorative cloth for covering the top of a piece of furniture; a runner.

3. A sash indicating military rank.

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs

1. To dress, cover, or decorate with or as if with a scarf.

2. To wrap (an outer garment) around one like a scarf.

[Early Modern English, sash worn from the shoulder to the opposite hip, scarf, variant of scarp (attested in the meaning “narrow bend sinister”), of French origin; akin to Old North French escarpe, variant of Old French escherpe, pilgrim's scrip hung from the shoulder across the chest to the opposite hip, from Germanic *skirpja, *skjirpa, pannier or satchel woven from rushes, scrip, from Latin *scirpus, rush, of unknown origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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