A small square of silk or linen, used in various ignoble offices about the face and especially serviceable at funerals to conceal the lack of tears. The handkerchief is of recent invention; our ancestors knew nothing of it and intrusted its duties to the sleeve. Shakespeare's introducing it into the play of "Othello" is an anachronism: Desdemona dried her nose with her skirt, as Dr. Mary Walker and other reformers have done with their coattails in our own day -- an evidence that revolutions sometimes go backward.
A piece of cloth, usually square and often fine and elegant, carried for wiping the face or hands.
A piece of cloth shaped like a handkerchief to be worn about the neck; a neckerchief; a neckcloth.
a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory
a small, square, thin cloth used for wiping
A soiled or bloodstained handkerchief indicates a quarrel. A lost handkerchief indicates a broken relationship. Blowing your nose into a handkerchief protends an improvement in social status. Wiping your forehead with a handkerchief signifies a lightening of responsibilities.
A handkerchief or hanky is a square of fabric, usually carried in the pocket, for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or blowing one's nose, but also used as a decorative accessory in a suit pocket. Richard II of England is said to have invented the handkerchief.