Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗A bunch of feathers, grass or hair, etc., held together at the base. · A cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress or a quilt, etc., to secure and strengthen the padding. · A small clump of trees or bushes. · A gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities.
To provide or decorate with a tuft or tufts. · To form into tufts. · To secure and strengthen (a mattress, quilt, etc.) with tufts. This hinders the stuffing from moving. · To be formed into tufts.
From Middle English tuft, toft, tofte, an alteration of earlier *tuffe (> Modern English tuff), from Old French touffe, tuffe, toffe, tofe (“tuft”) (modern French touffe), from Late Latin tūfa (“helmet crest”) (near Vegezio). Compare Old English þūf (“tuft”), Old Norse þúfa (“mound”), Swedish tuva (“tussock; grassy hillock”), Swedish tova (“tangled knot”), Swedish tofs (“tuft, tassel”), from Proto-Germanic *þūbǭ (“tube”), *þūbaz; akin to Latin tūber (“hump, swelling”), Ancient Greek τῡ́φη (tū́phē, “cattail (used to stuff beds)”).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"A cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress or a quilt, etc., to secure and strengthen the padding.",
"A small clump of trees or bushes.",
"A gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities."
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"To secure and strengthen (a mattress, quilt, etc.) with tufts. This hinders the stuffing from moving.",
"To be formed into tufts."
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