COIF (coiffed, coiffing)

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Irregular inflected forms: coiffed

, coiffing

Dictionary entry overview: What does coif mean?

• COIF (noun)
The noun COIF has 2 senses:

1. the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair)

2. a skullcap worn by nuns under a veil or by soldiers under a hood of mail or formerly by British sergeants-at-law

Familiarity information: COIF used as a noun is rare.

• COIF (verb)
The verb COIF has 2 senses:

1. cover with a coif

2. arrange attractively

Familiarity information: COIF used as a verb is rare.

Dictionary entry details

• COIF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

coif; coiffure; hair style; hairdo; hairstyle

Hypernyms ("coif" is a kind of...):

hair (a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss)

Meronyms (parts of "coif"):

rat (a pad (usually made of hair) worn as part of a woman's coiffure)

curl; lock; ringlet; whorl (a strand or cluster of hair)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coif"):

bouffant (a woman's hairstyle in which the hair gives a puffy appearance)

thatch (hair resembling thatched roofing material)

scalp lock (a long tuft of hair left on top of the shaven head)

roach (a roll of hair brushed back from the forehead)

ponytail (a hair style that draws the hair back so that it hangs down in back of the head like a pony's tail)

pompadour (a hair style in which the front hair is swept up from the forehead)

pageboy (a smooth hair style with the ends of the hair curled inward)

marcel (a hairdo characterized by deep regular waves that are made by a heated curling iron)

chignon (a roll of hair worn at the nape of the neck)

braid; plait; tress; twist (a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair)

wave (a hairdo that creates undulations in the hair)

bob (a hair style for women and children; a short haircut all around)

bang; fringe (a border of hair that is cut short and hangs across the forehead)

Afro; Afro hairdo (a rounded thickly curled hairdo)

haircut (the style in which hair has been cut)

beehive (a hairdo resembling a beehive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A skullcap worn by nuns under a veil or by soldiers under a hood of mail or formerly by British sergeants-at-law

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coif" is a kind of...):

skullcap (rounded brimless cap fitting the crown of the head)

Derivation:

coif (cover with a coif)

• COIF (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cover with a coif

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "coif" is one way to...):

cover (provide with a covering or cause to be covered)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

coif (a skullcap worn by nuns under a veil or by soldiers under a hood of mail or formerly by British sergeants-at-law)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Arrange attractively

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

arrange; coif; coiffe; coiffure; do; dress; set

Context example:

dress my hair for the wedding

Hypernyms (to "coif" is one way to...):

groom; neaten (care for one's external appearance)

Verb group:

curry; dress; groom (give a neat appearance to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "coif"):

bob (cut hair in the style of a bob)

wave (set waves in)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They coif their hair

Derivation:

coiffure (the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair))

Context examples

“By God's coif! Wat would miss it but little,” said another.