scarf definition | Dictionary.com

scarf

1 [skahrf]

noun, plural scarfs, scarves [skahrvz]

, verb

–noun

1.	a long, broad strip of wool, silk, lace, or other material worn about the neck, shoulders, or head, for ornament or protection against cold, drafts, etc.; muffler.

2.	a necktie or cravat with hanging ends.

3.	a long cover or ornamental cloth for a bureau, table, etc.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to cover or wrap with or as if with a scarf.

5.	to use in the manner of a scarf.

Origin:
1545–55; perh. special use of scarf ²

Related forms:

scarfless, adjective

scarflike, adjective

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scarf

2 [skahrf]

noun, plural scarfs, verb

–noun

1.	a tapered or otherwise-formed end on each of the pieces to be assembled with a scarf joint.

2.	Whaling. a strip of skin along the body of the whale.

–verb (used with object)

3.	to assemble with a scarf joint.

4.	to form a scarf on (the end of a timber).

5.	Steelmaking. to burn away the surface defects of (newly rolled steel).

6.	Whaling. to make a groove in and remove (the blubber and skin).

Also, scarph (for defs. 1, 3, 4).

Origin:
1490–1500; < ON skarfr (deriv. of skera to cut) end cut from a beam (hence perh. a piece of cloth cut off, i.e., scarf ¹ ); cf. Sw skarv patch

Related forms:

scarfer, noun

scarf

3 [skahrf]

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object) Slang.

to eat, esp. voraciously (often fol. by down or up): to scarf down junk food.

Origin:
1955–60, Americanism; var. of scoff ² , with r inserted prob. through r-dialect speakers' mistaking the underlying vowel as an r-less ar

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To scarf

scarf¹ (skärf)

n. pl. scarfs (skärfs) or scarves (skärvz)

A long piece of cloth worn about the head, neck, or shoulders.
A decorative cloth for covering the top of a piece of furniture; a runner.
A sash indicating military rank.

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs

To dress, cover, or decorate with or as if with a scarf.
To wrap (an outer garment) around one like a scarf.

[French dialectal escarpe, sash, sling, from Old North French, variant of Old French escherpe, pilgrim's bag hung from the neck, from Frankish *skirpja, small rush, from Latin scirpus, rush.]

scarf² (skärf)

n. pl. scarfs (skärfs)

A joint made by cutting or notching the ends of two pieces correspondingly and strapping or bolting them together. Also called scarf joint.
Either of the correspondingly cut or notched ends that fit together to form such a joint.

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs

To join by means of a scarf.
To cut a scarf in.

[Middle English skarf, as in scarfnail, probably from Old Norse skarfr, end piece of a board cut off on the bias.]

scarf³ (skärf)

tr.v. scarfed, scarf·ing, scarfs Slang
To eat or drink voraciously; devour: "Americans scarf down 50 million hot dogs on an average summer day" (George F. Will).

[Variant of scoff².]
scarf'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Scarf

Scarf\ (sk[aum]rf), n. [Icel. skarfr.] A cormorant. [Scot.]

Scarf

Scarf\, n.; pl. Scarfs, rarely Scarves (sk[aum]rvz). [Cf. OF. escharpe a pilgrim's scrip, or wallet (hanging about the neck), F. ['e]charpe sash, scarf; probably from OHG. scharpe pocket; also (from the French) Dan. ski[ae]rf; Sw. sk["a]rp, Prov. G. sch["a]rfe, LG. scherf, G. sch["a]rpe; and also AS. scearf a fragment; possibly akin to E. scrip a wallet. Cf. Scarp a scarf.] An article of dress of a light and decorative character, worn loosely over the shoulders or about the neck or the waist; a light shawl or handkerchief for the neck; also, a cravat; a neckcloth.

Put on your hood and scarf. --Swift.

With care about the banners, scarves, and staves. --R. Browning.

Scarf

Scarf\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scarfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Scarfing.]

1. To throw on loosely; to put on like a scarf. "My sea-gown scarfed about me." --Shak.

2. To dress with a scarf, or as with a scarf; to cover with a loose wrapping. --Shak.

Scarf

Scarf\, v. t. [Sw. skarfva to eke out, to join together, skarf a seam, joint; cf. Dan. skarre to joint, to unite timber, Icel. skara to clinch the planks of a boat, G. scharben to chop, to cut small.] (a) To form a scarf on the end or edge of, as for a joint in timber, metal rods, etc. (b) To unite, as two pieces of timber or metal, by a scarf joint.

Scarf

Scarf\, n. (a) In a piece which is to be united to another by a scarf joint, the part of the end or edge that is tapered off, rabbeted, or notched so as to be thinner than the rest of the piece. (b) A scarf joint.

Scarf joint (a) A joint made by overlapping and bolting or locking together the ends of two pieces of timber that are halved, notched, or cut away so that they will fit each other and form a lengthened beam of the same size at the junction as elsewhere. (b) A joint formed by welding, riveting, or brazing together the overlapping scarfed ends, or edges, of metal rods, sheets, etc.

Scarf weld. See under Weld.

Language Translation for : scarf

Spanish: bufanda,

German: der Schal,

Japanese: スカーフ

More Translations »

scarf (3)

"eat hastily," 1960, U.S. teen slang, originally a noun meaning "food, meal" (1932), perhaps imitative, or from scoff (attested in a similar sense from 1846). Or perhaps from a dial. survival of O.E. sceorfan "to gnaw, bite" (see scarf (2)); a similar word is found in a S.African context in the 1600s.

scarf (1)

"strip of cloth," 1555, "a band worn across the body or over the shoulders," probably from O.N.Fr. escarpe "sash, sling," which probably is identical with O.Fr. escherpe "pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck," perhaps from Frank. *skirpja, from a Gmc. source (cf. O.N. skreppa "small bag, wallet, satchel"), or from M.L. scirpa "little bag woven of rushes," from L. scirpus "rush, bulrush," of unknown origin. As a cold-weather covering for the neck, first recorded 1844. Plural form scarfs began to yield to scarves early 18c., on model of half/halves, etc.

scarf (2)

"connecting joint," 1276, probably from O.N. skarfr "nail for fastening a joint." A general North Sea Gmc. ship-building word (cf. Du. scherf, Swed. skarf, Norw. skarv), the exact relationship of all these is unclear. Also borrowed into Romanic (cf. Fr. écart, Sp. escarba); perhaps ult. from P.Gmc. *skerf-, *skarf- (cf. O.E. sceorfan "to gnaw, bite").

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