Q: "coffy" as a material (cloth?) in 1743

Douglas G. Wilson douglas at NB.NET
Thu Mar 5 04:58:36 UTC 2009


>
> A Boston newspaper advertisement of 1743 starts "Very handsome
> CHARIOT, fit for Town or Country, lined with Red Coffy".
>
> What is "coffy"?  My simple-minded searches haven't given me any clues.
-

I don't know, but my best guess would be a variant spelling of "caffoy"
or maybe "caffa" (obsolete cloth types: both headwords in my poor-man's
OED). My OED shows (e.g.) "coffae" as a variant spelling.

-- Doug Wilson

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