noun1. a close-fitting cap worn under a veil, worn in the Middle Ages by many women but now only by nuns
2. any similar cap, such as a leather cap worn under a chain-mail hood
3. (formerly in England) the white cap worn by a serjeant at law
4. a base for the elaborate women's headdresses of the 16th century
5. (kwɑːf) a less common word for coiffure (sense 1)
verbWord forms: coifs, coiffing or coiffed (transitive)6. to cover with or as if with a coif
7. (kwɑːf) to arrange (the hair)
Word origin
C14: from Old French
coiffe, from Late Latin
cofea helmet, cap, of obscure origin