Doffing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of taking off a hat or article of clothing as a gesture or for comfort ; the action of lifting or raising an object, especially in a light or quick manner
2. Removing an item of apparel, usually from the head, often as a sign of respect or politeness ; the process of elevating or picking up something, sometimes with a brief or casual motion
3. The process of taking off a head covering or other garments, typically to reveal or adjust ; the act of lifting or hoisting something upward, frequently done gently or briefly

Etymology: "Doffing" is the present participle of "doff", and "doff" is a contraction of an older phrase: Middle English "do off", "don off", from Old English "dōn of". Old English "dōn" meant "to do", but it also meant "to put" or "to take off", so "dōn of" literally meant "to do off", in the sense of undoing a garment or item of dress. Over time the two words fused into one, and the spoken form shortened to "doff." Since the word originally described taking off clothing, its best-known use, removing a hat as a sign of respect, is one of its specialized senses. The "do" in it is the same "do" as in everyday English, and the pattern is shared by "don" (do on, to put on clothing), "doff's" opposite, and "dout" (do out, to extinguish), which show how English once built verbs for dressing and undressing from this common root.

Synonyms: removal, taking off, disrobing

Antonyms: putting on, dressing