Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Kerchief

Ker′chief (kẽr′chĭf), n.; pl. Kerchiefs (#). [OE. coverchef, OF. cuevrechief, couvrechef, F. couvrechef, a head covering, fr. couvrir to cover + OF. chief head, F. chef. See Cover, Chief, and cf. Curfew.] 1. A square of fine linen worn by women as a covering for the head; hence, anything similar in form or material, worn for ornament on other parts of the person; — mostly used in compounds; as, neckerchief; breastkerchief; and later, handkerchief.

He might put on a hat, a muffler, and a kerchief, and so escape. Shak.

Her black hair strained away To a scarlet kerchief caught beneath her chin. Mrs. Browning.

2. A lady who wears a kerchief. Dryden.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.