A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1937 (DOST Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1500-1539, 1662
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Curchef(fe, -chif, n. [ME. curchef (c 1300), -chyfe, e.m.E. curtchif (1535): cf. Courchef.] A kerchief. — 1539 Treasurer's Accounts VII. 187.
To be nycht curcheffis to the Kingis grace, iiij elnis ½ elne of small Holand claith c1500-c1512 Dunb. Tua Mar. W. 138 (M).
I have ane conditioun of ane curchef of kirsp 1662 Highland P. III. 5.
She put it in watter or in a curchif 1662 Ib. 28.
Jonet … took off her curcheffe, and strek thrie straiks off her curcheffe upon the kow
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"Curchef n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/curcheffe>
