"coffy" as an antedating in 1743

[Joel S. Berson]

I now see that my 1743 "coffy" is an antedating of OED2 "caffoy"
.  Whether one takes it as the fabric (sense 1) or the paper (sense
2), both are 1750-.

Boston Post-Boy.
1743 May 16
3/1-3/2
A Very handsome CHARIOT, fit for Town or Country, lined with Red Coffy

Joel

At 3/5/2009 10:23 AM, you wrote:
>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
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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