Word of the Day

: June 24, 2014

mufti

noun MUFF-tee

What It Means

: ordinary dress as distinguished from that denoting an occupation or station; especially : civilian clothes when worn by a person in the armed forces

mufti in Context

Maureen's family is thankful to have her at home, dressed comfortably in mufti, after a six-month tour of duty overseas.

"The opening was a swelling National Anthem performed by a brass choir of soldiers from Fort Huachuca's 62nd Army Band…. Some members of the brass choir also performed with the symphony, doing double duty, one in uniform and the other in mufti." - Bill Hess, Sierra Vista Herald, October 31, 2013

Did You Know?

In the Islamic tradition, a mufti is a professional jurist who interprets Muslim law. When religious muftis were portrayed on the English stage in the early 19th century, they typically wore costumes that included a dressing gown and a tasseled smoking cap, an outfit that some felt resembled the clothing preferred by the off-duty military officers of the day. The clothing sense of "mufti," which first appeared in English around that same time, is thought to have developed out of this association of stage costume and civilian clothing.