cuerpo 
In (or en) cuerpo, without a cloak or upper garment, or 
without the formalities of a full dress, so that the shape 
of the body is exposed ; hence, figuratively, naked or un- 
protected. 
So they unmantled him of a new Plush Cloke, and my 
Secretary was content to go home quietly, and en <-in'fjn>. 
Hun-ell, Letters, I. i. 17. 
cuff 1 (kuf), v. [Appar. < Sw. kuffa, thrust, push, 
sai<l to be freq. of kufra, subdue, suppress, 
cow: see cow 2 .] I. trans. 1. To strike with 
or as with the open hand. 
Cuff him soundly, but never draw thy sword. 
Sluik.,1. N.,iii. 4. 
2. To buffet in any way. 
The budded peaks of the wood are how'd, 
Caught and cu/'d by the gale. Tennyson, Maud, vi. 
II. t intrans. To fight ; scuffle. 
The peers cuff to make the rabble sport. Dryden. 
cuff 1 (kuf), . [< cuff 1 , r.] 1. A blow with the 
open hand ; a box ; any stroke with the hand or 
fist. 
This mad-brain'd bridegroom took him such a cuff, 
That down fell priest and book. 
Shak., T. of the S., ill. 2. 
2f. A blow or stroke from or with anything. 
With wounding cufful cannon's fiery ball. 
Mir. for Mags., p. 834. 
cuff 2 (kuf), n. [Early mod. E. cuffe, < ME. 
cuffe, coffe, a glove or mitten, prob. < AS. 
ctiffie, found once in sense of 'hood' or 'cap,' 
< ML. cofia, cofea, cuffa, cuphia, > also It. 
cuffia = P. coiffe, etc., a cap, coif : see coif.] 
If. A glove ; a mitten. 
He caste on his clothes i-clouted and i-hole, 
His cokeres and his cojfus for colde of his nayles. 
Piers Plowman (A), vii. 56. 
Cuffe, glove or metyne [var. mitten], mitta, ciroteca. 
Prompt. Pare., p. 106. 
2. (a) A distinct terminal part of a sleeve at 
the wrist, intended for embellishment. The cuff 
was made originally by turning back the sleeve itself and 
showing either the same material as that of the sleeve or 
a different material used as a lining. In the fifteenth cen- 
tury a prominent part of the dress was the large cuff, 
which could be turned down so as to cover the hand to the 
finger-tips, and when turned back reached nearly to the 
elbow. In modern times the coat-sleeve has been some- 
times made with a cuff which can be turned down over 
the hand, though not intended to be so used, and some- 
times with a semblance of a cuff, indicated by braid and 
buttons, or by a facing of velvet or other material, or mere- 
ly by a line or lines of stitching around the sleeve, (ft) A 
band of linen, lace, or the like, taking the place 
of, and covering a part of the sleeve in the same 
manner as, the turued-up cuff, in the seventeenth 
century such cuffs, worn by ladies, were often extremely 
rich, of expensive lace, and reached nearly to the elbow. 
Plain linen cuffs were also worn about 1640, and were 
especially affected by the Puritans in England. When 
the plain linen wristband worn attached to the shirt by 
men first came into use, in the early part of the nineteenth 
century, it was commonly turned back over the sleeve, 
and was a true cuff. ( c ) I n recent times, a sepa- 
rate band of linen or other material worn about 
the wrist and appearing below the end of the 
sleeve. As worn by men, it is buttoned to the 
wristband of the shirt. 3. That part of a long 
glove which covers the wrist and forearm, es- 
pecially when stiff and exhibiting a cylindrical 
or conical form. 
The cuffs of the gauntlets. 
J. Hewitt, Ancient Armour, II. p. vii. 
CUflf 3 (kuf), n. [Sc., cited by Jamieson from 
Gait; perhaps for scruff, confused with cuff 2 ."] 
The scruff of the neck; the nape. 
cuff-frame (kuf'fram), n. A special form of 
knitting-machine for making the cuffs of knit- 
ted garments. 
Cufic, Kuflc (ku'fik), a, and n. [< Cufa + -ic.] 
I. a. Of or pertaining to Cufa, or Kufa, an old 
city south of Babylon, the capital of the califs 
before the building of Bagdad, which contained 
the most expert and numerous copyists of the 
Koran : specifically applied to the characters of 
the Arabic alphabet used in the time of Moham- 
med, and in which the Koran was written. 
II. n. The Cufic characters collectively. 
He ... made notes of all that I told him in the quaint 
character used by the Mughrebbins or Arabs of the West, 
which has considerable resemblance to the ancient Cufic. 
B. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 23. 
Sometimes written Cuphic. 
CUguar (ko'gar), . Same as cougar. 
cui bono (ki bo'no). [L. cui est bono f to whom 
is it (for) a benefit? cui, dat. of quis, who; est, 
3d pers. sing. pres. ind. act. of esse, be; 6oo, 
dat. of bonmn, a good: see who, fte 1 , and bona.] 
For whose benefit ? popularly, but incorrectly, 
for what use or end ? 
The point on which our irreconcilability was greatest, 
respected the cui bono of this alleged conspiracy. 
De Quincey, Secret Societies, i. 
cuif (kof), n. Same as coo/. 
1390 
Cllilleron (kwe'lye-ron), n. [F., bowl of a 
spoon (= It. ciiccltiajoHe, a large spoon, a ladle), 
aug. of cutiler (= It. cucchiajo), m., also F. 
cuillere (= Sp. cuchara = It. cucchiaja), f., a 
spoon, < L. cocleare, cochleare, a spoon: see 
cochleare, etc.] Same as alula, 2 (o). 
cuinage (kwiu'aj), n. [An old form of coinage.} 
In Eny. mining] the making up of tin into pigs, 
etc., for carriage. 
cuirass (kwe-ras' or kwe'ras), n. [Early mod. 
E. also cuirasse, curace; = MD. kuris, kurisse, 
D. kuras = MLG. kuresser, korisser, koritz = 
LG. kurrutz = MHG-. kurisz, G. Mris, kurass 
= ODan. korritz, kyrritz, < Dan. kyrads = Sw. 
kyrass (the mod. Teut. forms after F.), < F. 
cuirasse, OF. cuirasse, cuirace = Pr. coirassa, 
cuirassa = Sp. coraza = Pg. courafa, coiraga = 
It. corazza, < ML. eoratia, coratium (also curatia, 
curacia more like OF.), a breastplate, orig. of 
leather, < L. coriaceus, of leather, < corium (> 
OF. and F. cuir, leather), skin, hide, leather 
(for "scorium, cf. scortmn, a hide, skin), = Gr. 
X&piov (for *oK6f)iov), a membrane, = OBulg. 
skora, a hide, = Lith. skura, skin, hide, leather; 
prob. from the root of E. shear, q. v. From 
L. also coriaceous (a doublet of cuirass), and 
quarry 2 , game.] 1. A piece of defensive ar- 
mor covering the body from the neck to the 
girdle, and combining a breastplate and a back- 
piece. Such a protection was used among the ancients in 
various forms, but under different names (see breastplate, 
thorax), and is still worn by the heavy cavalry epecincal- 
Ancient Greek Cuirasses. Cup of Sosias, 5th century B.C.. in Berlin 
Museum. 
ly called cuirassiers in the French and other European 
armies. The cuirass seems to have been first atlopted in 
England in the reign of Charles I., when the light cavalry 
were armed with buff coats, having the breast and back 
covered with steel plates. Subsequently this piece of 
armor fell into disuse, and was resumed by the English 
only after the battle of Waterloo, where the charges of 
the French cuirassiers were very effective. 
2. Any similar covering, as the protective ar- 
mor of a ship ; specifically, in zoo'l., some hard 
shell or other covering forming an indurated 
defensive shield, as the carapace of a beetle or 
an armadillo, the bony plates of a mailed fish, 
etc Double cuirass, the usual form of cuirass of the 
first half of the fifteenth century, consisting of a plastron 
and a pansiere moving freely one over the other. 
cuirassed (kwe-rasf or kwe'rast), a. [< cuirass 
+ -erf 2 .] Furnished with a cuirass or other 
protective covering: as, cuirassed ships; cui- 
rassed fishes. 
The cuirassed sentry walked his sleepless round. 
0. W. Holmes, On Poetry, ii. 
To make the steel plates necessary for cuirassed vessels. 
New York Weekly Post, April 8, 1868. 
cuirassier (kwe-ra-ser'), n. [< F. cuirassier, < 
cuirasse, cuirass. ] A mounted soldier armed 
with the cuirass. The cavalry of the time of the Eng- 
lish civil wars was commonly so armed. The word was 
introduced in the seventeenth century to replace pistolier 
(which see). In modern European armies there are gen- 
erally one or two regiments of cuirassiers. See cuirass. 
Cuirassiers, all in steel for standing fight. 
Milton, P. E,, iii. 328. 
I conducted him with a guard of honour, consisting of 
a squadron of the first Cuirassier regiment, to Bellevue. 
Quoted in Lome's Bismarck, I. 561. 
cuirassine, n. [OF., dim. of cuirasse, cuirass.] 
In armor, an additional thickness put upon the 
breastpiece of a corselet, or a plate of steel 
secured to the brigandine to give additional 
defense. Compare mammeliere, 2, plastron, 
jilacate, pectoral. 
cuir-bouilli, cuir-bouiUy (kwer-bo'lyi), . [F. 
cuir bouilli (> ME. curbouly, quirboily, etc.), lit. 
boiled leather: see cuirass and boil 2 .'] Leather 
prepared by boiling and pressing, so that it be- 
comes extremely hard and capable of preserving 
cul-de-lampe 
permanently the shape and surface-decoration 
given it, and can afford considerable resistance 
to sword-cuts and other violence, it has been much 
used from the middle ages to the present day for armor, 
crests, helmets, and ornamental utensils of many kinds. 
For elaborate work it is now prepared by boiling and then 
pressed in molds ; for common work it is merely soaked in 
hot water before pressing. 
His jambeux were of quirboily. Chaucer, Sir Thopas. 
cuirtan (kwer ' tan), n. White twilled cloth 
made in Scotland from fine wool, for under- 
garments and hose. 1'lanclie. 
crushes (kwish'ez), n. pi. [Also cuisses; < ME. 
quischens (for "quisches) (Wright), cushies (Hal- 
liwell), < OF. cuissaux (Cotgrave), pi. of cuissel 
(= It. cosciale), also cuissere and cuissart (> 
mod. F. cuissard), also cuissots, pi., armor for 
the thighs (mod. F. cuissot, a haunch of veni- 
son) (= Sp. quijote, formerly quixote (whence 
the name of the famous Don Quixote : see quix- 
otic) = Pg. coxote, armor for the thighs ; ML. 
cuissellus, cuisserius, cuissetus, after the OF. 
forms), < cuisse, F. cuisse = Pr. coissa, cuyssa 
= Pg. coxa = It. coscia (ML. cuissia), the thigh, 
< L. coxa, the hip : see coxa.'] Armor for the 
thighs ; specifically, plate-armor worn over the 
chausses of mail or other material, whether in 
a single forging or in plates lapping over one 
another. In the fully developed plate-armor of the fif- 
teenth century the cuishes became barrels of steel, each 
in two parts, divided vertically, hinged on one side, and 
fastening on the other with hooks, turn-buckles, or the 
like. See second cut under armor. 
I saw young Harry, with his beaver on, 
His cuisses on his thighs, gallantly arm'd, 
Rise from the ground like feather'd Mercury. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iv. 1. 
And how came the cuixhes to be worse tempered than 
the rest of his armour, which was all wrought by Vulcan 
and his journeyman ? Dryden, Epic Poetry. 
All his greaves and cuisses dash'd with drops 
Of onset. Tennyson, Morte d' Arthur. 
Cuishes to cuishes*, in close order in the march of cav- 
alry, drone. 
cuisine (kwe-zen'), n. [F., = Pr. cozina = Sp. co- 
cina = Pg. cozinha = It. cucina, < ML. cocina, L. 
coquina, a kitchen (> also AS. cycene, E. kitchen), 
orig. fern, of coquinus, of or pertaining to cook- 
ing, < coquere, cook: see cook 1 , and kitchen, 
which is a doublet of cuisine.'] 1. A kitchen. 
2. The culinary department of a house, hotel, 
etc., including the cooks. 3. The manner or 
style of cooking ; cookery. 
cuissartst, n. pi. Same as cuishes. 
cuisses, n.pl. See cuishes. 
cuisshent, n. A Middle English form of cushion. 
cuitikins, n.pl. See cutikins. 
cuitle (kiit'l), t\ t. ; pret. and pp. cuitled, ppr. 
cuitling. [Sc. ; also written cuittle, cutle; prob. 
= E. ki Me, tickle : see kittle, r.] 1. To tickle. 
And mony a weary cast I made, 
To cuittle the moor-fowl's tail. 
Scott, Waverley, xi. 
2. To wheedle ; cajole ; coax. 
Sir William might just stitch your auld barony to her 
gown sleeve, and he wad sune cuitle another out o' some- 
body else. Scott, Bride of Lammermoor, xiv. 
-cula. See -culus. 
culch (kulch), n. [E. dial. Cf. cultch."] Rub- 
bish; lumber; stuff. Grose. 
culdet. An obsolete spelling of could, preterit 
of caw 1 . 
Culdean (kul'de-an), a. [< Culdee + -an.] 
Pertaining or belonging to the Culdees : as, the 
Culdean doctrines. Stormonth. 
Culdee (kul'de), n. [< ML. Culdei, pi., also in 
accom. form Colidei, as if ' worshipers of God ' 
(< L. colere, worship, + deus, a god) ; also, more 
exactly, Keldei, Keledei, < Ir. ceilede (= Gael. 
cuilteach), a Culdee, appar. < cette, servant, + 
De, of God, gen. of Dia, God.] A member of a 
fraternity of priests, constituting an irregular 
monastic order, existing in Scotland, and in 
smaller numbers in Ireland and Wales, from 
the ninth or tenth to the fourteenth or fifteenth 
century. 
CUl-de-four (kul'de-for'), n. ; pi. cuts-de-four. 
[P., lit. bottom of an oven: cui, bottom, < L. 
culus, the posterior, bottom; de, < L. de, of; 
four = Pr. forn = Sp. homo = Pg. It. forno, < 
L. fornus, furnus, hearth, oven: see furnace.'] 
In arch., a vault in the form of a quarter sphere, 
often used to cover a semidome or to terminate 
a barrel-vault, especially in Roman, Byzantine, 
and Romanesque architecture. 
cul-de-lampe (kiil'de-lomp'), . ; pi. cnls-de- 
lampe. [F., a pendant, bucket, tailpiece, lit. 
bottom of a lamp : cui de (see cul-rie-fotir) ; 
lampe = E. lamp, q. v.] 1. In book-decoration, 
an ornamental piece or pattern often inserted 
at the foot of a page when the letterpress stops 
