The story
- Yoruba · borrowed fromfìlà“cap”
- Swahili · borrowed fromkofia“hat”
- Arabic · borrowed fromكُوفِيَّة“keffiyeh”
- English todaykufi
Probably from Arabic كُوفِيَّة (kūfiyya, “keffiyeh”), perhaps via Swahili kofia (“hat”), though some sources suggest a connection to Yoruba fìlà (“cap”).
Words from the same roots
Arabicكُوفِيَّة all →
keffiyeh
Swahilikofia all →
kofia
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.