English word origin

Etymology of cuff

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

verb

To furnish with cuffs.

noun

Glove; mitten · The end of a shirt sleeve that covers the wrist. · The end of a pants leg when folded up. · A surgical procedure in which parts of the body that were not previously connected are stitched together.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English cuffe, coffe (“glove, mitten”), of obscure origin. Perhaps from Old English cuffie (“hood, cap”), from Medieval Latin cofia, cofea, cuffa, cuphia (“helmet, headdress, hood, cap”), from Frankish *kuf(f)ja (“headdress”), from Proto-West Germanic *kuppju, from Proto-Germanic *kupjō (“cap”). Cognate with Middle High German kupfe (“cap”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentioncuffeenm
Inherited-form mentioncuffieang · hood, cap
Derivation mention*kuppjugmw-pro
Derivation mention*kupjōgem-pro · cap
Cognate mentionkupfegmh · cap

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "cuffe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English cuffe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cuffie",
        "t": "hood, cap"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cuffie (“hood, cap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "cofia"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin cofia"
    },
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        "2": "frk",
        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
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        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kuppju"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kuppju"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kupjō",
        "t": "cap"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kupjō (“cap”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gmh",
        "2": "kupfe",
        "t": "cap"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle High German kupfe (“cap”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "cuffe",
      "cuffe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "coffe",
      "coffe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cuffie",
      "cuffie#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cofia",
      "cofia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cofea",
      "cofea#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cuffa",
      "cuffa#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "cuphia",
      "cuphia#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*kuppju",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kuppju"
    ],
    [
      "*kupjō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kupjō"
    ],
    [
      "kupfe",
      "kupfe#Middle_High_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To furnish with cuffs."
      ],
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        "transitive"
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      "tags": [
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

verb

To handcuff. · To enter into a committed romantic relationship with (someone).

noun

A handcuff.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of handcuff.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "2": "handcuff"
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      "expansion": "Clipping of handcuff"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "handcuff",
      "handcuff#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "To handcuff.",
        "To enter into a committed romantic relationship with (someone)."
      ],
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        "slang"
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

verb

To hit, as a reproach, particularly with the open palm to the head; to slap. · To fight; to scuffle; to box. · To buffet.

noun

A blow, especially with the open hand; a box; a slap.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

1520, “to hit”, apparently of North Germanic origin, from Norwegian kuffa (“to push, shove”) or Swedish kuffa (“to knock, thrust, strike”), from the Proto-Germanic base *skuf- (skuƀ), from Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-, see also Lithuanian skùbti (“to hurry”), Polish skubać (“to pluck”), Albanian humb (“to lose”). Germanic cognates include Low German kuffen (“to box the ears”), German kuffen (“to thrash”). More at scuff, shove, scuffle.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionkuffano · to push, shove
Derivation mentionkuffasv · to knock, thrust, strike
Derivation mention*skewbʰ-ine-pro
Cognate mentionskùbtilt
Cognate mentionskubaćpl
Cognate mentionhumbsq
Cognate mentionkuffennds · to box the ears
Cognate mentionkuffende · to thrash

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "3": "-"
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      "expansion": "North Germanic"
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      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *skewbʰ-"
    },
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    },
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    },
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    },
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      "args": {
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        "2": "kuffen",
        "t": "to box the ears"
      },
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    },
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      "args": {
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    }
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      "kuffa#Norwegian"
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    [
      "kuffa",
      "kuffa#Swedish"
    ],
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      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skuf-"
    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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      "humb",
      "humb#Albanian"
    ],
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      "kuffen",
      "kuffen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "kuffen",
      "kuffen#German"
    ],
    [
      "scuff",
      "scuff#English"
    ],
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      "shove",
      "shove#English"
    ],
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      "scuffle",
      "scuffle#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "To hit, as a reproach, particularly with the open palm to the head; to slap.",
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for cuff →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Y3VmZg