Tuft
/tʌft/noun
A small bunch or cluster of hair, fibers, feathers, or grass growing or tied together.
Did you know?English tuft traces back to a Germanic word for a rounded clump or hillock, showing how people used the same shape-word for both landscape and hair.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*tuppaz
“A tuft, topknot, or clump”
Old English
OE
toft
“A small hill, knoll, or piece of raised ground”
Middle English
ME
tuft
“A cluster or bunch, especially of hair or grass”
Modern English
English
tuft
“A small bunch or cluster of fibers, hair, feathers, or grass”