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coffers

 - 3 dictionary results

cof⋅fer

  [kaw-fer, kof-er]
–noun
1. a box or chest, esp. one for valuables.
2. coffers, a treasury; funds: The coffers of the organization were rapidly filled by the contributions.
3. any of various boxlike enclosures, as a cofferdam.
4. Also called caisson, lacunar. Architecture. one of a number of sunken panels, usually square or octagonal, in a vault, ceiling, or soffit.
–verb (used with object)
5. to deposit or lay up in or as in a coffer or chest.
6. to ornament with coffers or sunken panels.
Use coffers in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME cofre < OF ≪ L cophinus basket; see coffin

Related forms:
cof⋅fer⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To coffers
cof·fer   (kô'fər, kŏf'ər)   
n.  

  1. A strongbox.

  2. often coffers

    1. Financial resources; funds.

    2. A treasury: stole money from the union coffers.

  3. Architecture A decorative sunken panel in a ceiling, dome, soffit, or vault.

  4. The chamber formed by a canal lock.

  5. A cofferdam.

  6. A floating dock.

tr.v.   cof·fered, cof·fer·ing, cof·fers

  1. To put in a coffer.

  2. Architecture To supply (a ceiling, for example) with decorative sunken panels.


[Middle English cofre, from Old French, alteration of *cofne, from Latin cophinus, basket; see coffin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

coffer 
c.1250, from O.Fr. cofre "a chest," from L. cophinus "basket" (see coffin).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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