tuftn.
/tʌft/, U.S. /təft/ 1. c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 557 Vp on the cop right of his nose he haade A werte and ther on stood a tuft [v.r. toft(e] of heerys.1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 36 A peyre of bedys..with a knoppe, othir wyse callyd a tufft, of blak sylke.1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. iii. 73 b The rest of the haires..they doe cut away.., except a tuffe of haire on the top of their head.1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. v. 78 Great tufts of feathers vpon their heads.1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 273 A tuft of seven bristles.1727 P. Longueville Hermit 193 A small Tuff of Hair on each Shoulder and Hip.1794 W. Felton Treat. Carriages I. 141 The quilting of the cloth with small ornaments, called tufts, also gives a richness to the lining.1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Launcelot & Queen Guinevere in Poems (new ed.) II. 207 A light-green tuft of plumes she bore Closed in a golden ring.1845 W. Gregory Outl. Chem. ii. 345 Salicylic acid crystallises in tufts of slender prisms.
a. A bunch (natural or artificial) of small things, usually soft and flexible, as hairs, feathers, etc., fixed or attached at the base.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > tuft
tuftc1405
tate1513
tuffet?1553
thrum1578
muchet1601
tassel1609
whisk1845
a731 Bæda Hist. Eccl. ii. xvi Illud genus uexilli, quod Romani tufam, Angli uero appellant tuuf. (Hence in Henry of Huntingdon: see Du Cange.)]
b. Botany, etc. A cluster of short-stalked leaves or flowers growing from a common point, of stems growing from a common root, etc.; an umbel or fascicle; also, a clump of small herbs growing closely together.Formerly applied more widely, e.g. to the receptacle of a composite flower, or to a compact seed-vessel. †London tuft, an old name for Sweet William: see London n. See also candytuft n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > plants collectively > [noun] > tuft, clump, or cluster of plants
hassockc1450
tuft?1523
tusk1530
tush1570
hill1572
dollop1573
clumpa1586
rush1593
trail1597
tussock1607
wreath1610
stool1712
tump1802
sheaf1845
massif1888
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun]
crowna1350
knop1398
tuft?1523
coronet1555
crownet1578
head1597
seed head1597
truss1688
capitulum1704
glome1793
glomerule1793
glomus1832
flower-head1839
inflorescence1851
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxx Beestes alone, nor horses alone, nor shepe alone..woll nat eate a pasture euyn: but leaue many tuftes and high grasse.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 283/2 Tufte of grasse, monceau de herbe.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. x. 18 The..common Tansie hath a blackishe stalke..diuided..into many single braunches, at the end wherof are round tuftes, bearing yellow floures like small round buttons.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 159 The round tufts or heads which conteine the seede.
a1650 G. Boate Irelands Nat. Hist. (1652) xiii. 111 Hassockie-bogs..are very thick over-spread with little Tufts or Ilets..consisting of Reeds, Rushes [etc.].
1727 P. Blair Pharmaco-botanologia v. 235 Tufts or Umbels of penta~petalous yellow Flowers.
1727 P. Blair Pharmaco-botanologia v. 236 Dispos'd in small Umbells or Tuffs.
1824 W. Irving Tales of Traveller II. iv. 255 Tom had long been picking his way cautiously through this treacherous forest; stepping from tuft to tuft of rushes and roots.
1853 C. M. Yonge Heir of Redclyffe II. viii. 117 A tuft of deep purple, the beautiful Alpine saxifrage.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. i. iii. 137 All the leaves of that branch may be brought in contact at their base, in which case they form a tuft or fascicle.
1908 E. Fowler Between Trent & Ancholme 89 The Robin's favourite tuft on the top of the Cedar-tree.
2. A small tufted patch of hair on the head or chin; a lock; an imperial (imperial n. 8).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > hair of head > lock or locks > [noun]
lockeOE
forelockc1000
hair-lockc1000
earlockOE
foretopc1290
tressc1290
lachterc1375
fuke1483
sidelock1530
proudfallc1540
widow's locka1543
folding1552
fore-bush1591
flake1592
witch knot1598
tuft1603
French lock1614
head-lock1642
witch-lock1682
rat's tail1706
side-curl1749
scalp knot1805
rat-tail1823
straggler1825
scalping-tuft1826
scalp-lock1827
aggravator1835
soap-lock1840
payess1845
stringleta1852
list1859
tresslet1882
drake's tail1938
1603 A. Dent Path-way to Heauen (new ed.) 42 What say you then to these..long lockes, fore-tufts, shagge haire, and all these new fashions?
c1610–15 tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Life St. Gorgonia in C. Horstmann Lives Women Saints (1886) 160 No..friselled tuffes, borrowed to deceiue.
1654 tr. M. Martini Bellum Tartaricum 33 In the hinder part of their Heads they leave a Tuff, which being curiously woven and plated, they let hang down.
1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 150 On his [Chaucer's] Chin 2 thin forked Tuffs.
1831 W. Scott Count Robert ii, in Tales of my Landlord 4th Ser. I. 38 One of the soldiers..who showed the shaven head and the single tuft of a Mussulman.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story v The stylish tuft on his chin.
3. † b. A grassy hillock, a small knoll or mound. (Cf. toft n.1 3) Obsolete. rare.
a. A small group of trees or bushes; a clump. (Cf. toft n.1 4, which perhaps belongs here.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > clump or cluster
hata1425
tuftc1450
plumpa1470
clumpa1586
turb1618
hummock1636
toll1644
bush1856
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > thicket, brake, or brush
shaw755
thicketa1000
thyvela1000
greavec1050
wood-shawc1275
boscagec1400
greenwood shawc1405
thickc1430
brakec1440
shaw of wood1462
queach1486
bush1523
tuft1555
bushment1587
bocage1644
cripple1675
virgult1736
bluffc1752
thick-set1766
sylvagea1774
thicket-maze1813
bosk1815
woodlet1821
rush1822
puckerbrush1867
c1450 Godstow Reg. 458 iij. acris of arable lond..with the mansion, tyftis of roddis, thorptis or croftis, and medis, at wyke.
c1450 Godstow Reg. 458 All the forsaid lond with the mansion, tyftis of twyggis, thorptis, medis,..and all other thyngis longyng to the said lond [cf. 139 toft of roddys; 679 tofte of Roddys].
1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 352v Vppon the innermoste necke to the landewarde, is a tufte of trees.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 36 Behind the tuft of Pines I met them. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 327 With high Woods the Hills were crownd, With tufts the vallies & each fountain side. View more context for this quotation
1751 S. Whatley England's Gazetteer at Tottenham A circular tuft of elms..called the Seven Sisters.
1879 S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Palestine xi. 239 Land..more or less sprinkled with tufts of desert shrubs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > hillock
barrowc885
burrowc885
berryc1000
knapc1000
knollc1000
ball1166
howa1340
toft1362
hillocka1382
tertre1480
knowec1505
hilleta1552
hummock1555
mountainettea1586
tump1589
butt1600
mountlet1610
mounture1614
colline1641
tuft1651
knock?17..
tummock1789
mound1791
tomhan1811
koppie1848
tuffet1877
1651 J. Howell S.P.Q.V. 32 The Adriatic Sea..spreading himself..towards the Continent of Italie, leaves som green tuffs or tombs of Earth uncoverd.
4. (a) Anatomy. A small cluster or plexus of capillary blood vessels, as the Malpighian tufts of the kidney; a glomerule. (b) Zoology. branchial or respiratory tuft: a cluster of tentacles having a respiratory function, in some tubicolous worms.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood vessel > [noun] > bundle or network
rete mirabile?a1425
net?c1425
thrum1615
glomus1839
transverse sinus1840
tuft1848
glomerule1856
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > phylum Annelida > [noun] > class Chaetopoda > order Polychaeta > suborder Sabelliformia > member of > respiratory tentacles of
branchial or respiratory tuft1848
1848 Quain's Elements Anat. (ed. 5) II. 1196 Others look on a Malpighian tuft as merely an example of an artery breaking up into a rete mirabile.
1861 T. R. Jones Gen. Outl. Animal Kingdom (ed. 3) x. 266 The respiratory tufts..attached to the anterior extremity of the creature..form most elegant arborescent appendages, generally tinted with brilliant colours.
1873 T. H. Green Introd. Pathol. & Morbid Anat. (ed. 2) 68 The tufts of vessels which form the Malpighian bodies.
a. A crest, as of a bird. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > animal body > general parts > covering or skin > [noun] > coat > hair, wool, or fur > crest or forelock
topa1225
cresta1387
toppingc1400
tuft1598
foretop1607
fore-topping1683
forelock1711
antiae1874
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Capelletto, a little tuffe vpon a peacocks head.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Tuft, a lock of Hair,..also the Crest of a Bird.
b. figurative. Head, chief, top. Obsolete.Apparently an isolated use.
ΘΠ
society > authority > rule or government > rule or government of family or tribe > head of family, tribe, or clan > [noun] > head of family
tuft1631
oubaas1824
paterfamilias1850
house head1864
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes ii. v. 94 in Wks. II He is..my Chiefe, the Point, Tip, Top, and Tuft of all our family.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > turban
turban1561
tuft1585
mandil1662
turban-fold1898
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 165/1 Tiara, a Turkish tuffe, such as the Turkes weare..on their head.
1621 H. Ainsworth Annot. Five Bks. Moses, Bk. Psalmes & Song of Songs (1639) (Exodus xxviii. 39) 117 Miter..signifieth a thing wrapped about the head. Such as the Tuffe which..is worne in the Easterne Countries.
7.
a. An ornamental tassel on a cap; spec. the gold tassel formerly worn by titled undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge (see quot. 1894).Originally, at Oxford, a distinction of the sons of those peers who had a vote in the House of Lords, after 1861 of all peers and their eldest sons; after 1870 made optional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [noun] > knot or tassel
buttona1547
tuft1670
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa i. iii. 71 That invention of Bishops and Prelates to wear Green Tufts in their Caps.
a1704 T. Brown Contin. Quaker's Serm. in 3rd Vol. Wks. (1708) i. 155 Let not a Cap be seen among us, with an Idolatrous Tuff upon it.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1851) I. 336/2 As he was sacrificing the tuft of his cap fell off.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. viii. 142 Men..all in tufts or gentlemen-commoners' caps.
1894 Westm. Gaz. 5 Mar. 3/1 Lord Rosebery..was one of the last undergraduates of Christ Church who wore the gold tassel, known by the name of ‘tuft’, which was the distinguishing mark of noblemen and the sons of noblemen.
b. transferred in University slang, One who wears a tuft; a titled undergraduate.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > types at specific universities
son?c1550
Bibler1569
round cap1572
batteler1604
fellow commoner1614
gentleman-commoner1614
primar1642
Bible-clerk1650
Harry-Sopha1661
hodman1677
nobleman1682
seconder1684
grueller1691
ternar1698
tuft1755
red gowna1774
ten-year-man1816
prick-bill1818
bear1828
martinet1831
sheep1865
trotter1883
skiver1884
hall-reader1886
sign-off1902
night climber1937
techie1969
1755 Connoisseur No. 97. ⁋1 I remember to have heard a cousin of mine,..formerly at Cambridge,..mentioning a sect of Philosophers, distinguished by the rest of the collegians under the appellation of Tuft-Hunters. These were..the followers (literally speaking) of the fellow-commoners, noblemen, and other rich students.
1789 Loiterer No. 11. 6 A Tuft (when once suffered to get away from you) is scarcely ever recovered again.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story ii The lad went to Oxford,..frequented the best society, followed with a kind of proud obsequiousness all the tufts of the university.
1847 B. Jowett Let. 10 Mar. in Life & Lett. (1897) I. 158 Dufferin of Christ Church..seems a most excellent tuft.
1884 Weekly Register 18 Oct. 503/2 One don is much like another, to a lively young tuft who keeps beagles.
Compounds
C1. attributive: [In both these, tuft may be, not the noun, but = tuffed , tufted adj. compare quot. 15871 at mockado n.1 1a.] † tuft gillyflower n. Obsolete a kind of gillyflower (? = pink) growing in tufts.† tuft mockado n. Obsolete a kind of mockado or woollen velvet decorated with small tufts of wool. (see mockado n.1 1, 1b, and cf. tuftaffeta n. and adj.); also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pinks or carnations
gillyflower1517
carnation1538
clove gillyflower1538
incarnation1538
William1538
pink1566
John1572
Indian eye1573
sops-in-wine1573
sweet John1573
sweet-william1573
tuft gillyflower1573
Colmenier1578
small honesty1578
tol-me-neer1578
London tuft1597
maidenly pink1597
mountain pink1597
clove-carnation1605
musk-gillyflower1607
London pride1629
pride of London1629
maiden pink1650
Indian pink1664
Spanish pink1664
pheasant's eye pink1718
flake1727
flame1727
picotee1727
old man's head1731
painted lady1731
piquet1731
China-pink1736
clove1746
wild pink1753
lime-wort1777
matted thrift1792
clove-pink1837
Cheddar Pink1843
Dianthus1849
bunch pink1857
perpetual-flowering carnation1861
cliff pink1863
meadow pink1866
musk carnation1866
Jack1873
wax-pink1891
Malmaison1892
grenadin1904
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 41 Herbes..for windowes & potts..Tuft geliflowers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric for specific purpose > [noun] > for clothing > other
mockado1543
tuft mockado1579
mock-velvet1611
Mozambique1861
toile1899
blanketing1903
kente cloth1957
1579 J. Dee 10 Sept. in Private Diary (1842) 6 Some kinde of tuft mockado, with crosses blew and red.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall sig. B4v I will nicke-name no bodie: I am none of these tuft mockadoo mak-a-dooes.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 25 Penning a discourse of Tuftmockados.
1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Tuft-mockado, a mixed stuff made to imitate tufted taffeta, or velvet.
C2. tuft-topped adj.
Π
1840 G. A. Lundie Missionary Life Samoa (1846) xiii. 79 Tall tuft-topped cocoa-nut trees.
C3.
tuft-gill n. a tuft-gilled fish, a lophobranch ( Cent. Dict.).
tuft-gilled adj. having tufted gills, as the order Cirribranchiata of molluscs (tooth-shells), or Lophobranchii of fishes (see lophobranchiate adj. and n.). See also tuft-hunter n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Scaphopoda > [adjective] > of order Cirribranchiata
tuft-gilled1861
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Gasterosteiformes (sticklebacks) > [adjective] > belongong to Lophobranchiates
lophobranchiate1834
lophobranchian1835
lophobranchous1856
tuft-gilled1861
1861 P. P. Carpenter in Rep. Smithsonian Inst. 1860 222 Order Cirrobranchiata. (Tuft-gilled Crawlers).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
tuftv.
I. To form a tuft, and related uses.
1.
a. transitive. To furnish with a tuft or tufts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > tailor or make clothes [verb (transitive)] > other
fur13..
buttonc1380
lashc1440
pointa1470
set1530
tuft1535
vent1547
ruff1548
spangle1548
string1548
superbody1552
to pull out1553
quilt1555
flute1578
seam1590
seed1604
overtrim1622
ruffle1625
tag1627
furbelow1701
tuck1709
flounce1711
pipe1841
skirt1848
ruche1855
pouch1897
panel1901
stag1902
create1908
pin-fit1926
ease1932
pre-board1940
post-board1963
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > provide with clothing [verb (transitive)] > in specific way > with specific garments > other
wimple?c1225
pricka1275
clothe1382
addressa1393
haspc1400
to-cloutc1430
shirtc1450
gownc1485
tuft1535
passement1539
kerchief1600
muff1607
inshirt1611
insmock1611
mode1656
costume1802
slop1803
shawl1812
cravat1818
sur-invest1827
frock1828
pinafore1843
smock1847
panoply1851
underclothe1857
upholster1873
fancy dress1878
sleeve1887
to suit up1912
crinoline1915
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > furnish with a collection [verb (transitive)] > furnish with a tuft
tuft1743
1535 Wardrobe Acct. Henry VIII in Archaeologia (1789) 9 251 A paire of upper stockis of purple veluette embroidered with golde and tuffed with cameryke.
1573 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 210 For Tufting vi lardge kirtells of greene Sattin with golde sarcenet.
1630 J. Taylor Trav. in Wks. iii. 98/1 She's ring'd, she's braceleted, she's richly tuff'd.
1743 J. Davidson tr. Virgil Æneid viii. 264 Caps tufted with wool.
1744 J. Thomson Spring in Seasons (new ed.) 40 Solemn Oaks, that tuft the swelling Mounts.
1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter III. ix. 220 The officers of a crack Hussar regiment..tipped and tufted.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxxvi. 198 To make old baseness picturesque And tuft with grass a feudal tower. View more context for this quotation
b. Upholstery. To draw together the two surfaces of (a cushion or the like) by a thread passed through at regular intervals producing depressions, which are then usually ornamented with tufts or buttons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > sew or ornament textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > other
pink1486
gore1548
apply1851
cord1870
tuft1884
1884 [implied in: M. N. Forney Car-builder's Dict. (Cent.). ].
1891 in Cent. Dict.
2. intransitive. To form a tuft or tufts; to grow in tufts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > grow in a specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > grow in tufts
tuft1605
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 314 Among the darke shade of those tufting arbors.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 317 Tufting close vpon the ground, like vnto the common Thrift.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. III. xxxiv. 452 A sea of cotton, tufting here and there by the action of the air in the undisturbed part of the clouds.
3. transitive. To form into a tuft. rare. (Cf. tufted adj. 2.)
ΚΠ
1860 N. Hawthorne Transformation I. viii. 130 What weeds cluster and tuft themselves on the cornices of ruins.
II. Senses relating to beating or tufting for game.
4.
a. transitive. To beat (a covert) in stag-hunting. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > beat
beata1400
to put upa1475
tuft1590
tusk1592
fowl1611
flaxa1848
brush1876
1590 T. Cokayne Treat. Hunting C iv b You may begin to tuft for a Bucke.
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion xiii. 216 When with his hounds The laboring Hunter tufts the thicke vnbarbed grounds Where harbor'd is the Hart.
1840 D. P. Blaine Encycl. Rural Sports §1813 Tufting of deer. As deer frequently herd in copses, woods, and brakes, it is usual to tuft (hunt) a covert with a couple or two of steady old hounds, called tufters.
1908 Q. Rev. July 90 The lonely ridges of the Brendon hills are ‘tufted’ for a ‘warrantable’ deer.
b. To dislodge (the game) by ‘tufting’; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunt [verb (transitive)] > drive from lair or cover
starta1393
raisec1425
to put upa1475
rear1486
uprear1486
to start out1519
rouse1531
uncouch?a1562
to den outa1604
dislodge1632
tufta1640
draw1781
jump1836
a1640 T. Jackson Exact Coll. Wks. (1654) 3081 The..meaning of this Learned Moderator, hath been by his Followers,..so meanly Tufted, and so unskilfully hunted after.
1909 ‘Q’ True Tilda xxi They had tufted him [a stag] out of the wood.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.c1405
v.1535