coffer

Meanings

Noun

• A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
• An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome.
• A cofferdam.
• A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
• A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.

Verb

• To put money or valuables in a coffer
• To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.

Origin

• From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, from Latin cophinus ("basket"), from Ancient Greek κόφινος ("basket"). coffin.