Dictionary

keffiyeh en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• kə'fi-ə
• /kəˈfiː(j)ə/

Etymology

From Arabic كُوفِيَّة (kūfiyya). Doublet of kofia.

Meanings

1. An Iraqi headdress from the city of Kufa that is traditionally worn by some Arabs, also used as a scarf.
   • Speaking to a crowd of demonstrators, some of whom dressed in raincoats while others wore keffiyehs in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s deadly war on Gaza, one demonstrator said: “Any president that has come to power has also let workers down.” 2024 November 9, Maya Yang, “Anti-Trump protests erupt across US from New York City to Seattle”, in The Guardian:
   • Hos head showed again the dignity of the Arab dress, the inevitable keffiyah of black and white held in place by the black silk agal. 1951, Agatha Christie, They Came to Baghdad:
   • This guy's already awake! And chipper! He wraps on a keffiyeh! 2015, Joe Sacco, Palestine, Fantagraphics, →ISBN, page 31:
   • The group assembled in Romare Bearden Park shortly after 6 p.m., just barely outnumbering a dozen city police officers stationed in clusters around the area’s edge. The crowd grew to more than 50 people within the hour, many draped in keffiyehs and hoisting Palestinian flags high above their heads. 2025 June 27, Lila Hempel-Edgers, Damenica Ellis, “Protesters gathered in uptown Charlotte to oppose Trump bombing of Iran sites”, in The Charlotte Observer, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Jan 2026, Politics & Government:

Forms

Synonyms

cemedanî · keffiyeh · mashadah · ghutra · scarf · shawl · rezza · kufiya · chafiye · hattah

Translations (38)

de Pali (Arabian headdress) · kk куфия (Arabian headdress) · ca kufia (Arabian headdress) · es palestina (Arabian headdress) · fa دستمال یزدی (Arabian headdress) · de Palästinensertuch (Arabian headdress) · de Kefije (Arabian headdress) · pt quefié (Arabian headdress) · ar كُوفِيَّة (Arabian headdress) · de Kufiya (Arabian headdress) · ar غُتْرَة (Arabian headdress) · nl Palestijnensjaal (Arabian headdress) · ru куфи́я (Arabian headdress) · de Kefiye (Arabian headdress) · sv palestinasjal (Arabian headdress) · es kufiya (Arabian headdress) · fr kéfié (Arabian headdress) · de Palituch (Arabian headdress) · it kefiah (Arabian headdress) · eo kaptuko (Arabian headdress) · fr keffieh (Arabian headdress) · cs kefíja (Arabian headdress) · cs palestina (Arabian headdress) · uk ку́фія (Arabian headdress) · ky куфия (Arabian headdress) · ar شُمَاغ (Arabian headdress) · sv keffiyeh (Arabian headdress) · pl arafatka (Arabian headdress) · de Kufija (Arabian headdress) · nl arafatsjaal (Arabian headdress) · ar مَشَدَة (Arabian headdress) · ar حَطَّة (Arabian headdress) · he כאפיה \ כָּפִיָּה (Arabian headdress) · cs šemag (Arabian headdress) · it kefiyyah (Arabian headdress) · es pañuelo palestino (Arabian headdress) · pl kefija (Arabian headdress) · fa چفیه (Arabian headdress)