Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A covering for the shoulders, as of fur, with long ends that hang in front.
  • noun A long stole worn by members of the Anglican clergy.
  • noun A long hanging part, as of a sleeve, hood, or cape.
  • noun The thinnest end of a tapered fly-fishing leader.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A long and narrow pendent part of the dress, as the hanging part of a sleeve or the liripipium.
  • noun Any scarf or similar garment.
  • noun A cape or muffler, usually covering the shoulders or coming, at most, half-way to the elbow, but longer in front; especially, such a garment when made of fur; in modern use, any covering for the neck, or the neck and shoulders, with hanging ends, especially a woolen muffler tied about the neck. Fur tippets still form part of the official costume of English judges.
  • noun In the Ch. of Eng., a kind of cape worn by literates (non-graduates), of stuff, and instead of the hood, and by graduates, beneficed clergy, and dignitaries, of silk, at times when they do not wear the hood.
  • noun A hood of chain-mail: used sometimes for camail.
  • noun A length of twisted hair or gut in a fishing-line.
  • noun A bundle of straw bound together at one end, used in thatching.
  • noun In ornithology, a formation of long or downy feathers about a bird's head or neck; a ruff or ruffle.
  • noun In entomology, one of the patagia, or pieces attached to the sides of the pronotum, of a moth: so called because they are generally covered with soft, plumy scales. thus resembling tippets. Also shoulder-tippet.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A cape, or scarflike garment for covering the neck, or the neck and shoulders, -- usually made of fur, cloth, or other warm material.
  • noun Scot. A length of twisted hair or gut in a fish line.
  • noun Scot. A handful of straw bound together at one end, and used for thatching.
  • noun (Zoöl.) the great crested grebe, or one of several similar species.
  • noun (Zoöl.) the ruffed grouse.
  • noun [Obs.] to change.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a shoulder covering, typically the fur of a fox, with long ends that dangle in front
  • noun a stole worn by Anglican ministers
  • noun obsolete A length of twisted hair or gut in a fishing line.
  • noun obsolete A handful of straw bound together at one end, used for thatching.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a woman's fur shoulder cape with hanging ends; often consisting of the whole fur of a fox or marten

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English tipet, perhaps from tip, tip of an object.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • "...and Sophie was to buy herself a new pelisse, a fine new tippet..."

    --Patrick O'Brian, The Ionian Mission, 297

    February 14, 2008

  • "'I wonder—I have my own reasons for wondering—that a man of your I might almost say wealth, and of your standing, a member of Parliament, high on the post-captain's list, and well at court, cannot or rather will not afford himself a piece of rosin.'

    'You are to consider that I am a family man... with a boy to educate and daughters to provide a dowry for... Tippets. When you come to worry about Brigid's fortune, and Brigid's tippets, you too may economize on rosin.'"

    --P. O'Brian, The Commodore, 264

    March 18, 2008

  • Citation on remuffle.

    April 3, 2010