coffer

Alternative forms

• copher (obsolete)
• cophre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒfə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɔfɚ/
• (US, cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑfɚ/
• Homophones: cougher
• Rhymes: -ɒfə(ɹ)

Noun

coffer (plural coffers)

1. A strongbox: a strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
2. (architecture) An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome; a caisson.
   • 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, p.135:

     Prolapsed and waterstained ceiling, the sagging coffers.

3. A cofferdam.
4. A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
   • Francis Bacon

     He would discharge it without any burden to the queen's coffers.

   • Shakespeare

     Hold, here is half my coffer.

5. A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.

Verb

coffer (third-person singular simple present coffers, present participle coffering, simple past and past participle coffered)

1. (transitive) To put money or valuables in a coffer
2. (transitive) To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.

Further reading

• coffer in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• coffer in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• coffer at OneLook Dictionary Search