nuby

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

nuby (plural nubies)

1. An article of clothing similar to a scarf or a shawl.
   • 1 June 1804, Henry James, “Pandora”, in The New York Sun:

     She wore entwined about her head an article which Mrs. Dangerfield spoke of as a "nuby," a knitted pink scarf concealing her hair, encircling her neck and having among its convolutions a hole for her perfectly expressionless face.

   • 1902, Ellen Glasgow, The Battle Ground:

     "The little white nuby in my top drawer, Betty—I felt a chill striking the back of my neck."

   • 1904, Ellen Glasgow, The Deliverance; A Romance of the Virginia Tobacco Fields:

     "I met her at a church festival one Christmas Eve," responded Aunt Saidie, in a high-pitched, rasping voice. "The same evening that I got this pink crocheted nuby." She touched a small pointed shawl about her shoulders.

Anagrams

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