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cuff 1 (kŭf)
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n.
1.
a. A fold used as trimming at the bottom of a sleeve.
b. A band, often having an opening with a button closure, at the bottom of a sleeve.
2. The turned-up fold at the bottom of a trouser leg.
3. The band at the top of a sock.
4. The part of a glove that extends over the wrist.
5. A bracelet consisting of a curved, open-ended band, as of metal or resin, that fits the wrist firmly without a clasp.
6. A handcuff.
7. Medicine An inflatable band, usually wrapped around the upper arm, that is used along with a sphygmomanometer in measuring arterial blood pressure.
tr.v. cuffed, cuff·ing, cuffs
1. To form a cuff or cuffs on.
2. To put handcuffs on.
Idioms:
off the cuff
In an extemporaneous or informal manner.
on the cuff
On credit.
[Middle English cuffe, mitten.]
(click for a larger image)
cuff1
silver and carnelian
bracelet cuff
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
cuff 2 (kŭf)
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tr.v. cuffed, cuff·ing, cuffs
To strike with or as if with the open hand; slap.
n.
A blow or slap with the open hand.
[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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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