Tuft Definition

tŭft
tufts
noun
tufts
A bunch of hairs, feathers, grass, etc. growing closely together or attached at the base.
Webster's New World
Any similar cluster.
Webster's New World
A dense clump, especially of trees or bushes.
American Heritage

A cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress or a quilt, etc., to secure and strengthen the padding.

Wiktionary

(historical) A gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities.

Wiktionary
verb
tufts
To furnish or ornament with tufts or a tuft.
American Heritage
To secure the padding of (a quilt, mattress, etc.) by regularly spaced tufts.
Webster's New World
To grow in or form into tufts.
Webster's New World
To grow in a tuft.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Tuft

Noun

Singular:
tuft
Plural:
tufts

Origin of Tuft

  • Middle English toft(e), from Middle French tofe, toffe 'tuft', from Late Latin (near Vegezio) tufa 'helmet crest', from Germanic (compare Old English ðūf 'tuft', Old Norse þúfa 'mound', Swedish tuva 'tussock, grassy hillock'), from Proto-Germanic *þūbǭ, *þūbaz; akin to Latin tūber 'hump, swelling', Ancient Greek typhē 'cattail (used to stuff beds)'.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English probably alteration of Old French tofe from Late Latin tufa helmet crest or of Germanic origin

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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