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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.]

scarf²

(skärf)

n. pl. scarfs (skärfs)

1. A joint made by cutting or notching the ends of two pieces correspondingly and strapping or bolting them together. Also called scarf joint.

2. Either of the correspondingly cut or notched ends that fit together to form such a joint.

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs

1. To join by means of a scarf.

2. To cut a scarf in.

[Middle English skarf (as in scarfnail, nail for fastening a scarf joint), probably from Old Norse skarfr, end piece of a board cut off on the bias.]

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scarf2

top: plain scarf

bottom: hooked scarf

scarf³

(skärf)

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs
Slang

To eat or drink voraciously; devour: "Americans scarf down 50 million hot dogs on an average summer day" (George F. Will).

[Variant of SCOFF².]

scarfer n.

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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