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

[Joel S. Berson]

Thanks, Doug, for knowing how to misspell.

 From the "long 18th century" email list, I got the same suggestion,
and for example this reference:
Caffoy - a Woolen Velvet from Upholsterers and Interior furnishing in
England - 1530 - 1840 -Geoffrey Beard. 1997 p. 31 and p. 318.  Also Glossary.

Joel

At 3/4/2009 11:58 PM, Douglas G. Wilson wrote:

>>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
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org