overlay

/ˈəʊ.vəˌleɪ/

From Middle English overleyen, from Old English oferleċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *obarlaggjan, from Proto-Germanic *uberlagjaną, equivalent to over- + lay. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurläze, úurlääse, Dutch overleggen, German Low German overleggen, överleggen, German überlegen, Swedish överlägga, Norwegian overlegge. Compare overlie.

(printing) A piece of paper pasted upon the tympan sheet to improve the impression by making it stronger at a particular place.

(horse racing) A horse going off at higher odds than it appears to warrant, based on its past performances.


stole

From Old English stole, from Latin stola, from Ancient Greek στολή (stolḗ, “stole, garment, equipment”); akin to stall. Doublet of stola.

der

A scarf-like garment, often made of fur.


bib

Originally verb sense “drink heartily”, from Middle English bibben, either from Latin bibō (“I drink”) or of imitative origin. Noun sense (clothing) presumably either because worn while drinking, or because the clothing itself “drinks up” spills.

An item of clothing for people (especially babies) tied around their neck to protect their clothes from getting dirty when eating.

slabbetjie

item of clothing for protecting other clothes while eating

Similar items of clothing such as the Chinese dudou and Vietnamese yem.

(sports) A rectangular piece of material, carrying a bib number, worn as identification by competitors.

numerolappu

sports: piece of material carrying the bib number


muffler

→ Japanese: マフラー

→ Spanish: mofle

→ Welsh: myffler

(World War I military slang, rare) A gasmask.


handkerchief

en-noun

handkerchief (plural handkerchiefs or handkerchieves)

handkerchiefs (plural)
handkerchieves (plural)

/ˈhæŋkətʃɪf/

/ˈheɪŋkɚt͡ʃɪf/

/ˈhæŋkɚt͡ʃɪf/

Mr. Banks’ panama hat was in one hand, while the other drew a handkerchief across his perspiring brow.

1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:

A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands.

sakdoek

cloth for wiping the face, eyes, nose or hands

A piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief or neckcloth.


tie

From Middle English teye (“cord, chain”), from Old English tēag, tēah (“cord, chain”), from Proto-West Germanic *taugu, from Proto-Germanic *taugō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk-. Compare Danish tov, Icelandic taug.

A necktie (item of clothing consisting of a strip of cloth tied around the neck). See also bow tie, black tie.


scarf

→ Irish: scairf, scaif

→ Welsh: sgarff

Probably from Old Northern French escarpe (compare Old French escharpe (“pilgrim's purse suspended from the neck”), which see). The verb is derived from the noun. Doublet of scrip.


gaiter

Borrowed from French guêtre, from Middle French guiestres, guestes pl, from Old French *gueste, from Frankish *wastiju, from Proto-Germanic *wastijō (“garment; dress”).
Cognate with Middle High German wester (“a child's chrisom-cloth”), Middle High German westebarn (“godchild”), Old English wæstling (“a coverlet”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄𐌹 (wasti, “garment; dress”).

cog

[He] stood and pulled up the gaiter around his neck to mask his mouth and nose. “People are careful around here, so you'll want to put your mask on,” she told Perry.

2022 June 14, D. Jackson Leigh, Forever Comes in Threes, Bold Strokes Books Inc, →ISBN:


bolo

(US law enforcement) A request for law enforcement officers to be on the lookout for a suspect.


boa

From Middle English boa, from Latin boa (“large snake”), a species of serpent mentioned in Pliny's Naturalis Historia (Natural History). The scarf was named attributively, for its resemblance to the snake when worn.

Do not take up your boa as if it were the rope with which you meant to hang yourself; nor wrap your shawl round you as if it were your shroud.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 220:

A type of long scarf; typically made from synthetic or real feathers (or occasionally fur), and usually worn by being draped across the shoulders with the ends hanging low, sometimes also with a loop around the neck.


ruff

In the same genus there is another species which makes better eating. This is A[rripis] georgianus, popularly known as the ruff or tommy ruff (again, nothing to do with anything bearing that name in the Old World), but now officially called 'Australian herring' (another aberration). [...] The ruff, on the other hand, although a smaller fish, makes good eating; its flesh is tender and tasty.

2014, Alan Davidson, “Australasian ‘salmon’”, in Tom Jaine, editor, The Oxford Companion to Food, 3rd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 44:

A fish of species Arripis georgianus, found in cool waters off the southern coast of Australia


snood

From Middle English snod, from Old English snōd (“headdress, fillet, snood”), from Proto-West Germanic *snōdu, from Proto-Germanic *snōdō (“rope, string”), from Proto-Indo-European *snoh₁téh₂ (“yarn, thread”), from *sneh₁(i)- (“to twist, wind, weave, plait”).
Cognate with Scots snuid (“snood”), Swedish snod, snodd (“twist, twine”). Compare also Old Saxon snōva (“necklace”), Old Norse snúa (“to turn, twist”), snúðr (“a twist, twirl”), English needle.

inh

“Frida [...] tied her hair in the Grecian snood which her lover used to admire so.”

1895, R. D. Blackmore, chapter 9, in Frida, or, The Lover’s Leap, A Legend of the West Country, Dodd, Mead and Company, paragraph 1:

A band or ribbon for keeping the hair in place, including the hair-band formerly worn in Scotland and northern England by young unmarried women.

ле́нта

скрепля́ющая во́лосы

A short line of horsehair, gut, monofilament, etc., by which a fishhook is attached to a longer (and usually heavier) line; a snell.

peruke

short line to attach a fishhook to a line

A piece of clothing to keep the neck warm; neckwarmer.


cravat

From French cravate, an appellative use of Cravate (“Croat”), from Dutch Krawaat, from German Krawatte, from Serbo-Croatian Hr̀vāt/Хр̀ва̄т (“Croat”). The cravat is regarded as originating from a linen scarf worn by Croatian mercenaries which was adopted into French fashion in the 17th century.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Memorial Art Gallery
University of Rochester

It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravat wound about his wide-spread collar.

1906, Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, “The Dissolution”, in Chippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., →OCLC, page 3:

A wide fabric band worn as a necktie by men having long ends hanging in front.


bowtie

A man's necktie tied in a bow around the throat.


kerchief

en-noun

kerchief (plural kerchiefs or kerchieves)

From Middle English coverchef et al., from Old French couvrechief, from couvrir (“to cover”) + chief (“head”). Compare curfew.

And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my cap, / Had just settled down for a long winter's nap […]

1823, Clement Clark Moore, The Night Before Christmas:

(dated) A piece of cloth used to cover the head; a bandana.


necktie

Oh I have been to Ludlow fair / And left my necktie God knows where / And carried half way home, or near, / Pints and quarts of Ludlow beer.

1896, A. E. Housman, “Terence, this is stupid stuff”, in A Shropshire Lad:

A strip of cloth worn around the neck and tied in the front.


bolo tie

A necktie consisting of a heavy cord held in front by an ornamental clasp or slide.


ascot tie

Traditionally worn at the Ascot races in Ascot, England.

Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. […] A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

A type of cravat or necktie with a narrow neckband and wide wings laid one across the other.


fichu

Borrowed from French fichu (“(noun) triangular scarf; (adjective) got up, put together”) (in the sense of something thrown on without much thought), from ficher (“to drive something (such as a nail) by its point”), ultimately from Latin fīgō (“to fasten, fix; to pierce, transfix; to drive (a nail)”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to set up”).

refn

From the collection of the Musée Carnavalet in Paris, France.

der

No. 2.—Carriage Dress. A dress of taffety of the very lightest tinge of willow-green; with four broad tucks, or bias folds, round the border, carried up almost the whole length of the skirt. The body made quite plain; and an elegant fichu worn over it, made of fine India muslin, with a standing-up collar; finished by a full frill-trimming of very fine lace. This trimming, when the fichu is of crape or of Japanese gauze, is of blond.

1827 September, “Records of the Beau Monde. Fashions for September, 1827. Explanation of the Prints of the Fashions.”, in La Belle Assemblée, or Court and Fashionable Magazine; […], volume VI, number 33, London: Published by Geo[rge] B[yrom] Whittaker, […], →OCLC, page 122, column 1:

The ‘fichu’ proper, introduced by Marie-Antoinette, not before the décolletée style of toilette made it positively necessary, was nothing more than a lace kerchief worn crossed over the shoulders.

1868 May, “Fashion at Longchamps”, in London Society. An Illustrated Magazine of Light and Amusing Literature for the Hours of Relaxation, volume XIII, number LXXVII, London: Office, 217, Piccadilly, W. [printed by William Clowes and Sons], →OCLC, page 407, column 1:

The fichu is made in such a manner that it can at pleasure be either at the neck or in the center of the back, or at the waist, according as the fichu is arranged, more or less forward in front. For ladies who are unwilling to wear tight-fitting garments in the street without something to conceal the figure, these plaited fichus are most convenient; [...] These fichus are trimmed with bows, and are made according to the taste of the wearer.

1872 June, “Fashions for June”, in Charles Jacobs Peterson, editor, Peterson’s Magazine, volume LXI, number 6, Philadelphia, Pa.: Charles J. Peterson, →OCLC, page 446, column 2:

She wore a dress of filmy white stuff, embroidered with bunches of pale mauve thistles, a full fichu, and a large mauve hat with wide mauve ribbons, tied in front in a large knot where the fichu was crossed on her bosom.

1919, Ronald Firbank, chapter IX, in Valmouth: A Romantic Novel, London: Duckworth, →OCLC, page 93; republished in The Works of Ronald Firbank, volume III (Valmouth; The Princess Zoubaroff), London: Duckworth; New York, N.Y.: Brentano’s, 1929, →OCLC, page 93:

Assistant Van admired her elegant slenderness, the gray tailor-made suit, the smoky fichu and as it wafted away, her long white neck.

1969, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 5, in Ada, or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Harmondsworth, London: Penguin Books, published 1970, →ISBN, part 2, pages 288–289:

Dresses were updated or embellished by the use of accessories. A dress might be given a different look by the addition of a fichu. Fichus were often made of sheer, gauze-like fabrics. They were decorated with ruffles, ribbons, lace, and bows. Fichus were particularly popular in warmer climates at a time when propriety dictated that a lady's shoulders be fully covered until evening. A cooler dress with a scooped neckline could be worn and covered by the lightweight fichu. Older women often wore fichus with their ball gowns.

2009, Dorothy Denneen Volo, James M. Volo, “The Look: Fashion and Women’s Clothing”, in Daily Life in Civil War America (Greenwood Press Daily Life through History Series), 2nd edition, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 289:

(chiefly historical) A woman's lightweight triangular scarf worn over the shoulders and tied in front, or tucked into a bodice to cover the exposed part of the neck and chest.


neckerchief

en-noun

neckerchief (plural neckerchiefs or neckerchieves)

neckerchiefs (plural)
neckerchieves (plural)

From Middle English nekkyrchefe, neckercheve, equivalent to neck + kerchief.

The Boy Scout wore a red neckerchief, the ends clasped with a sliding knot ornament.

Self-assured, peripatetic and unfailingly dapper — he favored dark double-breasted suits and the occasional neckerchief, and once made the cover of Men’s Vogue in Italy — Mr. Enwezor never doubted that an African had every right to take the lead at Western art institutions.

2019 March 18, Jason Farago, “Okwui Enwezor, Curator Who Remapped Art World, Dies at 55”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The fella in question was still sitting at his table, sans everything above the neckerchief. There was blood everywhere, and brain matter, and bits of skull, and what looked like very expensive bone china.

2023 June 25, HarryBlank, “Transposthumousism”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 2024-12-18:

A scarf that is worn looped or tied around the neck.


neckcloth

[…] I did remember I had among the Seamens Cloaths which were sav’d out of the Ship, some Neckcloaths of Callicoe or Muslin; and with some Pieces of these I made three small Sieves, but proper enough for the Work […]

1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], 3rd edition, London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], published 1719, →OCLC, page 144:

1720, John Gay, “Tuesday; or, the Ditty” in Poems on Several Occasions, London: H. Lintot, R. Tonson & S. Draper, 1745, Volume I, p. 85,
Will she thy linen wash or hosen darn,
And knit thee gloves made of her own-spun yarn?
Will she with huswife’s hand provide thy meat,
And ev’ry Sunday morn thy neckcloth plait?
Which o’er thy kersey doublet spreading wide,
In service time drew Cic’ly’s eyes aside.

He was a man of such rigid refinement, that he would have starved rather than have dined without a white neck-cloth.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 9, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 115:

He was very cleanly dressed, in a blue coat, striped waistcoat, and nankeen trowsers; and his fine frilled shirt and cambric neckcloth looked unusually soft and white, reminding my strolling fancy (I call to mind) of the plumage on the breast of a swan.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 157:

It was not until Lestrade succeeded in getting his hand inside his neckcloth and half-strangling him that we made him realize that his struggles were of no avail; and even then we felt no security until we had pinioned his feet as well as his hands.

1887, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Study in Scarlet”, in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward, Lock & Co., part I (Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., […]), chapter VII (Light in the Darkness), page 49:

(historical) An ornamental cravat, usually white.


school tie

Alumni of prestigious schools fondly wear their school ties as a badge of honor

A necktie designated as (part of a) school uniform


neckwarmer

A piece of clothing to keep the neck warm.


chunni

Her head was covered with a green and yellow bandhani chunni which was tucked into the cleavage of her blouse.

1997, Kiran Nagarkar, Cuckold, HarperCollins, published 2013, page 1:

She no longer wears the scarf, called a chunni, while she works.

2007 September 4, Tanzina Vega, “An Unorthodox Cabby on a Path Less Traveled”, in New York Times:


neckpiece

It also has a neckpiece bearing a low-relief representation of the necklace of the chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece, to which only the most powerful of European rulers belonged.

2009 July 3, Ken Johnson, “Can You Breathe in There, Your Majesty?”, in New York Times:

A piece of clothing to be worn around the neck.


kipper tie

A very broad necktie, often with garish colours and patterns.


feather boa

/ˌfɛðə(ɹ)ˈbəʊə/

Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […] Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas.

1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:

A decorative scarf made of feathers, either real or synthetic.


infinity scarf

infinity scarf (plural infinity scarves or infinity scarfs)

infinity scarves (plural)
infinity scarfs (plural)

Then she tossed her red, curly mane and rewrapped her infinity scarf around her neck before picking up the box of muffins and her coffee.

2017, Sierra Rose, A CEO's One Night Stand (Book 4)

A neckwarmer resembling a scarf, but forming a loop with no ends.


necker

Our uniform is a green Scout shirt with the Group necker, woggle and badges. The Group necker is half blue, half yellow and worn so that the blue part is on the left, nect to the membership badge.

2010, Tom Dyer, Welcome to Scouting: An introduction to Scouting at the 1st Dinas Powys Scout Group for new Scouts and their parents, →ISBN, page 25:

It was only as they were doing that that I realised I hadn’t done my own necker. It was as crumpled as it had been when I had taken it off at bedtime. I slipped my woggle off and gave the necker to the Patrol Leader to do.

2014, Glynis Dunnit, Girls Scout for Boys, Academy Incorporated Limited, →ISBN, page 48:

The colours of a Scout necker identifies the wearer as belonging to a particular group. Additionally, the necker’s triangular point at the back of the wearer’s neck can provide space for a patch or symbol.

2022, Catherine Bannister, Scouting and Guiding in Britain: The Ritual Socialisation of Young People, Palgrave Macmillan, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 74:


Möbius scarf

It was just an ordinary silk scarf, given a half twist and the ends carefully sewn together, but that, of course, made it a Möbius scarf, the very idea of which I just thought was wonderful.

1992, Iain Banks, The Crow Road, Hachette Digital, published 2008, →ISBN:

A variegated, Möbius scarf was draped around her neck.

2013, Lisa Van Allen, The Wishing Thread, Ballantine Books, published 2013, →ISBN, page 259:

Betsy made a mental note to look it up on the Internet, as none of the shop's patterns for a Möbius scarf offered a Klein bottle hat pattern to go with it.

2014, Monica Ferris, The Drowning Spool, Berkley, published 2014, →ISBN:

An infinity scarf shaped like a Möbius strip.


red scarf

red scarf (plural red scarves or red scarfs)

red scarves (plural)
red scarfs (plural)


pioneer scarf

(communism) A neckerchief worn by a young pioneer, typically red in color.


remote training collar

remote training collar (plural remote training collars)


flea collar

A collar, worn by an animal, that is impregnated with chemicals that repel or kill external parasites such as fleas.


neck gaiter

Coordinate term: gaiter

A type of neckwarmer that can easily be pulled over the mouth and nose to offer a degree of masking for warmth and (to a limited extent) respiratory droplet suppression (albeit without fine filtration).