coffer

¹cof·fer

noun \ˈkȯ-fər, ˈkä-\

Definition of COFFER

1

: chest; especially : strongbox

2

: treasury, funds —usually used in plural

3

: a recessed panel in a vault, ceiling, or soffit

Examples of COFFER

1. <kept the jewels in a locked coffer>
2. <let me see what's in the household coffers and I'll get back to you about making a donation>

Origin of COFFER

Middle English coffre, from Anglo-French, ultimately from Latin cophinus basket, from Greek kophinos

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to COFFER

Synonyms

safe, safe-deposit box, strongbox

Related Words

lockbox; vault; locker, storeroom, treasury; box, caddy, case, casket, chest, footlocker, locker, trunk

Near Antonyms

debts, liabilities; indebtedness

Other Economics Terms

actuary, compound interest, globalization, indemnity, portfolio, rentier, stagflation, usurer

Rhymes with COFFER

goffer, offer, scoffer

²coffer

transitive verb

Definition of COFFER

1

: to store or hoard up in a coffer

2

: to form (as a ceiling) with recessed panels

First Known Use of COFFER

14th century

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

Rhymes with COFFER

goffer, offer, proffer, quaffer, scoffer, troffer

coffer

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Baroque coffered ceiling of the cupola of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, designed by …—SCALA/Art Reference

In architecture, a square or polygonal ornamental sunken panel used in a series as decoration for a ceiling or vault. Coffers were probably originally formed by wooden beams crossing one another to produce a grid. The earliest surviving examples were made of stone by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Coffering was revived in the Renaissance and was common in Baroque and Neoclassical architecture.