What does coiffeuse mean?
Coiffeuse is a noun borrowed directly from French that carries two distinct meanings depending on context. Its primary sense refers to a woman who works as a hairdresser, someone who cuts, styles, and arranges hair professionally; in this use it parallels the masculine form coiffeur. The second sense, found mainly in British English, denotes a piece of bedroom furniture: a low chest of drawers fitted with a mirror at which one dresses the hair or applies makeup. In modern speech the personal sense has largely been absorbed by the more neutral terms 'hairdresser' and 'stylist', so coiffeuse today most often surfaces in fashion writing, historical fiction, or descriptions of elegant salons, while the furniture sense appears in antiques catalogues and interior design contexts. Both senses derive from the French verb coiffer, meaning to dress or arrange the hair.
A woman whose occupation is cutting, styling, or dressing hair.
"The coiffeuse pinned each curl precisely as the bride watched anxiously in the mirror."
Often replaced in casual speech by 'hairdresser' or 'stylist'; retains a slightly formal, French-inflected tone.
(Chiefly British) A low chest of drawers with a mirror on top, used for dressing and arranging the hair.
"Her grandmother's mahogany coiffeuse stood beside the window, its mirror framed in carved wood."
The plural follows standard English patterns despite the word's French origin; the feminine French plural 'coiffeuses' is not used in English.
"Three coiffeuses worked the floor of the salon on Saturday mornings."
The same French word that means 'female hairdresser' also names the mirrored dressing table where all the primping happens.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of coiffeuse
Coiffeuse was borrowed into English from French, where it is the feminine form of coiffeur ('male hairdresser') and derives ultimately from the verb coiffer, 'to dress or cover the hair'. Coiffer traces back through Old French to the Late Latin cofea, a kind of hood or head covering, which also gave English the noun coif. The word entered English usage in the nineteenth century, retaining both its professional sense and, particularly in Britain, its application to a mirrored dressing table.
How coiffeuse is actually used
The hairdresser sense is somewhat formal or old-fashioned in everyday speech, where 'hairdresser' or 'stylist' is more common. The furniture sense is chiefly British and typically appears in descriptions of antique or vintage bedroom furnishings.
Easily confused with coiffeuse
A coiffeur is a male hairdresser, while a coiffeuse is specifically a woman who dresses hair (or, in Britain, a dressing table).