coffer

Etymology

From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin.

noun

1. A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
2. (architecture) An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome.
   Prolapsed and waterstained ceiling, the sagging coffers. 1979, Cormac McCarthy, Suttree, Random House, page 135
3. A cofferdam.
4. A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
   c. 1610–1620 (written), 1661 (first published), Francis Bacon, Letter of Advice to the Duke of Buckingham He would discharge it without any great burden to the queen's coffers.
   The coffers were empty, and the first thing to be done was to devise some means by which we could raise a revenue. 1909, John Claude White, Sikhim and Bhutan, page 26
5. 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

1. (transitive) To put money or valuables in a coffer
2. (transitive) To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.