doff

English

Etymology

From Middle English doffe, dof, equivalent to a blend of do + off. Compare don, dup, dout, gauf.

Pronunciation

Verb

doff (third-person singular simple present doffs, present participle doffing, simple past and past participle doffed)

  1. (clothing) To remove or take off, especially of clothing.
    • Shakespeare
      And made us doff our easy robes of peace.
    • Emerson
      At night, or in the rain, / He dons a surcoat which he doffs at morn.
    • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VII:
      She had doffed the shirt and Bermuda-shorts which she had been wearing and was now dressed for her journey home.
  2. To remove or tip a hat, as in greeting, salutation or as a mark of respect.
    The rustics doffed their hats at the clergy.
  3. To get rid of, to throw off.
    Doff that stupid idea: it would never work.
    • 1778, Charles Dibdin, The Perfect Sailor:
      Thus Death, who kings and tars despatches, / In vain Tom's life has doffed, / For, though his body's under hatches / His soul has gone aloft.
  4. (reflexive) To strip; to divest; to undress.
    • Crashaw:
      Heaven's King, who doffs himself our flesh to wear.

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (remove or take off clothing): don

Derived terms

Translations

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