buff

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“
The eight complained that a Forest Service sign near the site just east of Spanish Fork made it sound like bathing in the buff was allowed, but the citations were issued anyway, because state and county statutes are clear about public nudity being a no-no.

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Definitions (51)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (12)

  1. noun A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.
  2. noun A military uniform coat made of such leather.
  3. noun A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.
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Examples

  • Mark Blackwell in the buff was an artist's dream Silently, Ellie rose and lifted his blue-and-white-striped pajama top from the bedpost, then pulled it over her head. —  Stephanie Bond - Irresistible
  • The eight complained that a Forest Service sign near the site just east of Spanish Fork made it sound like bathing in the buff was allowed, but the citations were issued anyway, because state and county statutes are clear about public nudity being a no-no. —  Salt Lake Tribune Most Viewed
  • Yes, the buff is applied to the spell at the beginning of the cast time. —  WoW.com
  • If the buff procs and you have DoTs on the mob, for example, will the ticks of the DoTs during the period the buff is active for be affected by the added SP, or will they do damage as if you had the SP you had when you cast the DoT? —  WoW.com
  • Seeing Malin Akerman in the buff was a bonus. —  Comic Book Movie
 

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Buff has been looked up 304 times, favorited 0 times, listed 21 times, and commented on 0 times.

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Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

woolen ·  tight-fitting ·  maroon ·  brocaded ·  plaid ·  quilted ·  khaki ·  scarlet ·  leathern ·  tan ·  buckskin ·  sheepskin
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (10)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. From obsolete buffle, buffalo, from French buffle, from Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo.
  2. From the buff-colored uniform worn by New York volunteer firemen around 1920, originally applied to an enthusiast of fires and firefighting.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (8)

  1. Early modern English buffe, short for buffle, q. v.
  2. from buff, n., 7.
  3. from Middle English *buffen, boffen, stammer, from Old French buffer, bufer, later and modern F. bouffer (and bouffir), puff, blow, = Provencal Spanish Portuguese bufar = Italian buffare, formerly also boffare, dial. boffar (Middle Latin buffare), puff, blow, puff out the cheeks; a widely spread word, in part imitative, appearing in English in the literally sense in the form puff, q. v. Cf. buff, buffet, buffoon, etc.
  4. from buff, v. Cf. buffard, buffer.
  5. Early modern English buffe (found in Middle English only in the deriv. form buffet, q. v.) = Middle High German buf, buff, büff, puf, German puff = Middle Low German buff = Old Danish buff = Swedish dial. buff, from Old French buffe, bufe, a slap, box, blow, buffet, properly a slap on the cheek (cf. bouffe), = Old Italian buffa, the cheeks puffed out, a puff with the mouth, also strife, contention, modern Italian a trick, jest, = Spanish bufa, also befa, a jest, jeer, Middle Latin buffa, the cheeks puffed out (cf. Italian buffo, dial. boff, a puff of wind, a comic actor, = Spanish bufo, a comic actor: see buffoon); cf. Middle Latin buffare, Old French buffer, bufer, etc., puff: see buff.
  6. Early modern English buffe (found in Middle English only in the deriv. form buffet, q. v.) = Middle Low German Low German buffen = German puffen = ÖDanish buffe = Swedish dial. buffa, from Old French buffier, buffoyer, slap, strike, maltreat, from buffe, bufe, a slap, box, blow, buffet: see buff, n.
  7. Early modern English also buffe, buffie, from Italian buffa, “the buffie or breathing-holes of a head-piece or helmet” (Florio); a particular use of buffa, the cheeks puffed out: see buff.”
  8. English dial. variant of bough; cf. duff, variant of dough, barf, variant of bargh.
 

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/bəf/
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