kerchief
/ˈkɝ.t͡ʃɪf/noun, verb
kerchief is spelled K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kerchief means “A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a bandana” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kerchief is kerchiefs or kerchieves.
How many letters and syllables are in kerchief?
| Letters | 8: K-E-R-C-H-I-E-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 82,325th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is kerchief?
Kerchief appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 82,325th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce kerchief?
- US /ˈkɝ.t͡ʃɪf/
- US /ˈkɝ.t͡ʃif/
- UK /ˈkɜː.tʃɪf/
Kerchief has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-kerchief.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of kerchief
- kerchiefs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- kerchieves plural
- kerchiefing participle, present
- kerchiefed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kerchief mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedA piece of cloth used to cover the head; a bandana.
verb
- 1
datedTo cover with a kerchief.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kerchief in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense piece of cloth:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does kerchief come from?
From Middle English keverchef, coverchef et al., from Old French couvrechief, from couvrir (“to cover”) + chief (“head”). Compare curfew.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).