From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdoffdoff /dɒf $ dɑːf, dɒːf/ verb [transitive] old-fashioned DCCTAKE OFF CLOTHESto remove the hat you are wearing as a sign of respect→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
doff• Lasorda doffed his cap and bowed.• Ace stood silently as the Doctor doffed his hat, and gave Mortimer a cheery smile.• Because it was raining the chevalier did not doff his hat as was then the custom.• Its master staunchly refused to doff his hat to the director-general.• Lou Rigatoni laughed and doffed his hat, which Madame Astarti thought was a fedora but wasn't sure.• I doffed my cap to Goreng and his superiors.• And there was a brief New Romantic period where they doffed the costumes for makeup and mascara.• But Carrick has now gained an age where young lads metaphorically doff their caps and older spectators offer grudging respect.• Some twenty communications men, their watch just completed, appeared on deck, doffed their shirts and began to exercise.Origin doff (1300-1400) do off “to take off” ((8-17 centuries)) 