curch

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noun

A square piece of linen formerly worn by women instead of a cap; a kerchief.

OriginScots curch ← Middle Scots curche ← Early Scots curche →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nouncurch (plural curches)

plural curches · alternative courch

  1. ScotlandA square piece of linen formerly worn by women instead of a cap; a kerchief.

    The snood was exchanged for the curch, toy, or coif, when a Scottish lass passed, by marriage, into the matron state.

    1810, Walter Scott, “Canto III. The Gathering.”, in The Lady of the Lake; […], Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for John Ballantyne and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, and William Miller, →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number)

Origin

  1. Early Scotscurche
  2. Middle Scotscurche
  3. Scotscurch
  4. Englishcurch

Borrowed from Scots curch, from Middle Scots curche, from Early Scots curche (English Middle English keverchef). Doublet of kerchief.

More words from Scots, Middle Scots, Early Scots

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

curch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curch

MLA

“curch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curch. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “curch,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/curch.

Source: curch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.