scarf

/skɑrf/

/skɑf/

Other forms: scarves; scarfs; scarfed; scarfing

A scarf is a wide piece of fabric that's worn around the neck or over the head. That long, warm, wooly thing you wrap around your throat in the winter is a scarf.

In the 1500s, a scarf was a "band worn across the body," from the Old French escherpe, "pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck." Today, a scarf can take many forms, from an itchy wool scarf to a head covering worn for religious reasons to a silk scarf tied jauntily around the throat. As a verb, scarf means "eat hungrily." You might scarf down some pizza, then put on your scarf and head back into the snow.

Definitions of scarf

1. noun

   a garment worn around the head or neck or shoulders for warmth or decoration
   types:

   boa, feather boa

   a long thin fluffy scarf of feathers or fur

   fichu

   a lightweight triangular scarf worn by a woman

   kerchief

   a square scarf that is folded into a triangle and worn over the head or about the neck

   lambrequin

   a scarf that covers a knight's helmet

   mantilla

   a woman's silk or lace scarf

   muffler

   a scarf worn around the neck

   patka

   a scarf worn by Sikh men

   rebozo

   a long woolen or linen scarf covering the head and shoulders (also used as a sling for holding a baby); traditionally worn by Latin-American women

   sable

   a scarf (or trimming) made of sable

   stole

   a wide scarf worn about their shoulders

   tudung

   a scarf worn around the head by Muslim women in Malaysia; conceals the hair but not the face

   headscarf

   a kerchief worn over the head and tied under the chin

   neckerchief

   a kerchief worn around the neck

   type of:

   garment

   an article of clothing
2. verb

   wrap in or adorn with a scarf
   type of:

   assume, don, get into, put on, wear

   put clothing on one's body
3. noun

   a joint made by notching the ends of two pieces of timber or metal so that they will lock together end-to-end
   synonyms: scarf joint

   type of:

   joint

   junction by which parts or objects are joined together
4. verb

   unite by a scarf joint
   type of:

   bring together, join

   cause to become joined or linked
5. verb

   eat greedily
   synonyms: devour, guttle, pig, raven

   type of:

   eat

   take in solid food