Kanaph (כָּנָף) primarily means "wing" — the wing of a bird or a seraph. It appears about 110 times and carries a rich range of related meanings: the corner or edge of a garment (important in the law of tzitzit, Num. 15:38), the extremities of the earth ("the four corners," Isa. 11:12), and by metaphor the protective shelter of God.
The word is deeply poetic. Eagles bear their young on their kanaph (Deut. 32:11); the sun rises with "healing in its wings" (Mal. 4:2); and God shelters the faithful "under his wings" (Psalm 91:4).
The protective wing of God is one of the OT's most tender images. Ruth, coming under God's care through Boaz, is praised for sheltering "under the wings" of YHWH (Ruth 2:12). The Hebrew word for a prayer shawl (tallit) relates to this concept — the fringes (tzitzit) on the corners (kanaph) of the garment symbolize God's commandments and protection.
The woman who touches the "fringe" (kanaph) of Jesus' garment in the Gospels (Matt. 9:20) may have been reaching for the one in whom Malachi's prophecy — "the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings [kanaph]" (Mal. 4:2) — was fulfilled. Jesus lamented over Jerusalem longing to gather her "as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings" (Matt. 23:37).