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Origin and history of buff

buff(n.1)

kind of thick, soft leather, 1570s, buffe leather "leather made of buffalo hide," from French buffle "buffalo" (15c., via Italian, from Latin bufalus; see buffalo (n.)).

The color term "light brownish-yellow" (by 1788) comes via the hue of buff leather. The old association of "hide" and "skin" led c. 1600 to the sense in in the buff "naked." Buff-colored uniforms of New York City volunteer firefighters since 1820s led to the meaning "enthusiast" (1903).

These men, together with a score or more of young boys who cherish ambitions to be firemen some day, make up the unofficial Fire Department of New York, and any one who imagines they are not a valuable branch of the service need only ask any firemen [sic] what he thinks of the Buffs to find out his mistake. The Buffs are men and boys whose love of fires, fire-fighting and firemen is a predominant characteristic, who simply cannot keep away from fires, no matter at what time of the day or night they occur, or how long they continue. [New York Sun, Feb. 4, 1903]

buff(adj.)

1690s, "of the nature of buff leather;" 1762, "of the color of buff leather;" see buff (n.1). The meaning "well-built, hunky" (of physically fit persons) is from 1980s, from buff (v.) "to polish, make attractive."

buff(v.)

"to polish, make attractive," 1849, from buff (n.1), either in reference to the treatment of buff leather or to the use of buff cloth to polish metals, etc., with a buff-wheel (1849) or a buff-stick (1850). Related: Buffed; buffing.

buff(n.2)

"a blow, a slap," early 15c., probably from buffet (n.2).

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to buff

buffalo(n.)

1580s (earlier buffel, 1510s, from French), from Portuguese bufalo "water buffalo," from Medieval Latin bufalus, variant of Latin bubalus "wild ox," from Greek boubalos "buffalo," originally the name of a kind of African antelope, later used of a type of domesticated ox in southern Asia and the Mediterranean lands, a word of uncertain origin. It appears to contain bous "ox, cow" (from PIE root *gwou- "ox, bull, cow"), but this is perhaps Greek folk-etymology.

It has been wrongly applied since 1630s to the American bison. The other Germanic words (Dutch buffel, German Büffel, Danish böffel, etc.) are from French; from Medieval Latin come Russian buivolu, Polish bujwoł, Bulgarian bivol, etc. Buffalo gnat is recorded from 1822. Buffalo chip "dung of the American bison," used for fuel on the U.S. plains, is from 1840.

buffet(n.2)

c. 1200, "a blow struck with a fist or blunt weapon," from Old French bufet "a slap, a punch," diminutive of bufe "a blow, slap, punch; puff of wind," figuratively "cunning trick," probably echoic of the sound of something soft being hit.

buffer(n.2)

"one who or that which polishes by buffing," 1854, agent noun from buff (v.).

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    caramel
    1725, "burnt sugar," from French caramel "burnt sugar" (17c.), from Old Spanish caramel (modern caramelo), which is of uncertain origin, probably ultimately from Medieval Latin cannamellis, which is traditionally from Latin canna (see cane (n.)) + mellis, genitive of mel "honey"
    lover
    "one who is enamored, person in love," early 13c., agent noun from love (v.). Old English had lufend for male lovers, lufestre for women. Meaning "one who has a predilection for" (a thing, concept, pursuit, etc.) is mid-14c. As a form of address to a lover, from 1911. Related: Lo
    burnish
    early 14c., "polish by friction," from Old French burniss- present-participle stem of burnir, metathesis of brunir "to shine, gleam, sparkle" (trans.), also "polish, make sparkle, make bright, shine," from brun "brown; polished," from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compa
    blindman
    The children's game of blindman's buff attested from 1580s; the blindfolded person tries to catch the others, "who, on their...part, push him about and make sport with him" [OED]; from buff "a buffet, blow" (see buffet (n.2))....
    furbish
    "to rub or scour to brightness;" figuratively, "to clear from taint or stain, renew the glory or brightness of; renovate," late 14c. (implied mid-13c. in the surname Furbisher), from Old French forbiss-, present-participle stem of forbir "to polish, burnish; mend, repair" (12c.,
    shine
    Middle English shinen, from Old English scinan "shed, send forth, or give out light; be radiant, be resplendent, illuminate," of persons, "be conspicuous" (class I strong verb; past tense scan, past participle scinen). This is reconstructed to be from Proto-Germanic *skeinanan (s
    brown
    Old English brun "dark, dusky," developing a definite color sense from 13c., from Proto-Germanic *brunaz (source also of Old Norse brunn, Danish brun, Old Frisian and Old High German brun, Dutch bruin, German braun), from PIE root *bher- (2) "bright; brown." The Old English word
    smooth
    "having a uniform surface, not rough," a Middle English form, from Old English smoð, a variant of smeðe "free from roughness, not harsh, polished; soft; suave; agreeable," which is of unknown origin and has no known cognates. The usual form in early Middle English was smeeth, but
    hit
    late Old English hyttan, hittan "come upon, meet with, fall in with, 'hit' upon," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hitta "to light upon, meet with," also "to hit, strike;" Swedish hitta "to find," Danish and Norwegian hitte "to hit, find," from Proto-Germanic *hitjan,
    leather
    Old English leðer (only in compounds) "tanned or otherwise dressed hide or skin of an animal," from Proto-Germanic *lethran (source also of Old Norse leðr, Old Frisian lether, Old Saxon lethar, Middle Dutch, Dutch leder, Old High German ledar, German Leder), from PIE *letro- "lea

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