'tuft' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'touffe,' where the root meant 'tuft, clump.'

'tuft' changed from Old French 'touffe' into Middle English forms such as 'toft'/'tuft' and eventually became the modern English word 'tuft'; the adjective 'tufted' developed as the past-participial/derived adjectival form.

Initially, it meant 'a bunch or cluster' (especially of hair, wool, or feathers), and this core sense has largely remained in modern usage.