buer

A gnat. Hall i well. [North. Eng.] buft, boeft, interj. An exclamation representing the sound made by eructation in consequence of overeating. Whan they for soules seye the psalm of Davit, Lo, buf they seye, cor meum eructavit. Chaucer , Summoner's Tale, 1. 296. buff1 (buf), n. and a. [Early mod. E. buffe , short for bufflel , q. v.] I. n. 1t. A buffalo. Buffalo [It.], a buffle, a buffe . Florio. Bufle [F.], the buffe , buffle, bugle, or wild ox. Cotgrave . There are also wilde beastes bred in those woods, as Buffes , Beares, and blacke Wolues. Hakluyt's Voyages , I. 248. They have also the qualities of a Buffe : for if they see a man clothed in red, they run vpon him immediately to kill him. Hakluyt's Voyages , I. 116. 2. A kind of thick leather, originally and properly made of the skin of the buffalo, but now also of the skins of other animals, as elks, oxen, etc. It is dre ed so as to be as flexible as po ible, and without a glazed or artificially colored surface. It is used for making belts, pouches, gloves, etc., and in the later middle ages came into use to take the place in a measure of light armor: as, "a suit of buff , " Shak ., C. of E., iv. 2. Also called buff -leather. His doublet was of sturdy buff , And though not sword, yet cudgel-proof. S. Butler , Hudibras, I. i. 306. 3. A buff-coat (which see). I'll make a shift to drain it Ere I part with boots and buff . If tinkers may have leave to live, And bear the sow-skin budget. buff2 (buf), v. i. [ buffen , boffen , stam- mer, buffer , bufer , later and mod: F. bouffer (and bouffir ), puff, blow, Pr. Sp. Pg. bufar = It. buffare , formerly also boffare , dial. boffar (ML. buffare ), puff, blow, puff out the cheeks; a widely spread word, in part imita- tive, appearing in E. in the lit. sense in the form puff , q. v. Cf. buff3 , buffet1 , buffoon , etc.] 1. To stammer. [Now only prov. Eng.] Renable nas he nogt of tonge, ac [but] of spec he hastyf, Boffyng , & mest [most] wanne he were in wrath the or in stryf. Robert of Gloucester , 1. 414. 2. To emit a dull sound. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] buff2 (buf), n. [ buff2 , v. Cf. buffard , buffer2 .] 1. A dull fellow; a drone.-2. Nonsense; triv- ial or idle talk: as, that is all buff . That made him reele, and to his brest his bever bent. Spenser, F. Q., II. v. 6. To stand buff, to endure blows without flinching; con- front without fear. [Another signification has been sug- gested for the phrase, viz., to stand stripped to the buff or skin, like boxers.] And for the good old cause stood buff 'Gainst many a bitter kick and cuff. To have buffed out the blood From aught but a block. buffalo (buf'a-lō), n .; pl. buffaloes or -los (-lōz). [In early mod. E. usually buffe , buffle (see buff1 , bufflel ) = D. buffel buffel = MLG. buffel = MHG. buf- fel , G. büffel = Sw. buffel = ODan. buffel , böffel , Dan, böffel ( buffle ); in the form buffalo , búfalo = Pg. bufalo , bufaro bufolo , bubalo , ubalo , formerly buffalo , brufol , brufe = F. buffle = Wall. bivol = Hung. IMG:content-2691.png:[blocks in formation] λος , also βούβαλις , an African species of ante buffalo-nut (buf'a-lō-nut), n. 1. The fruit of lope, perhaps the hartbeest; prob. (simulating the North American shrub Pyrularia oleifera.- Gr. βοῦς , an ox) from a native African name.] 1. A ruminant mammal of the family Bovida , the best-known species of which is the Bubalus buffel us or Bos bubal us , larger than the ox and now found in most of the warmer countries of the eastern hemisphere. It is le docile than the common ox, and is fond of marshy places and rivers. It is, however, used in tillage, draft, and carriage in India and elsewhere. The female gives much more milk than the cow, and from the milk the ghee or clarified butter of India is made. The Cape buffalo, Bubalus or Bos caffer, Cape Buffalo ( Bubalus caffer ). is distinguished by the shape of its horns, which are black and united at their bases, forming a great bony plate on the front of the head. It attains the size of an ox. The pared from it, but the flesh is not highly esteemed. 2. A name given to various wild oxen, or Bovinæ , and particularly to the bison of North America, Bison american us . See bison .-3. A buffalo-robe.-4. A buffalo-fish. - 5. A leather hamper used for carrying bobbins.-6. pl. [ cap .] In U. S. hist ., a name given given by their op- ponents to those members of the Locofoco or Equal Rights party who in 1836 accepted the overtures of the regular Democratic organiza- tion (Tammany) toward a coalition.-7. pl . A nickname given to the dwellers on the coast of buffalo-berry (buf'a-lō-beri), n. 1. The fruit of the Shepherd i a argentea , a shrub or small tree which grows in western North America. - 2. The tree itself. buffalo-bird (buf'a-lō-bėrd), n. A bird of the genus Sturnopastor : so called because it as so- ciates with buffaloes. I never tired of watching the friendly relation between the Buffalo - birds (Sturnopastor ialla and S. mel an opter us) and their bovine hosts. H. O. Forbes , Eastern Archipelago, p. 55. buffalo-bug (buf'a-lō-bug), n. A name of the carpet-beetle. buffalo-chips (buf'a-lo-chips), n . pl . The dry dung of the bison, formerly used for fuel on the western plains of North America. buffalo-cod (buf'a-lō-kod), n. A chiroid fish, Ophiodon elongatus ; the cultus-cod. buffalo-fish (buf'a-lō-fish), n. The popular name of fishes of the family Catostomida , or suckers, and genus Ictiobus or Bubal ichthys . They are among the largest of the suckers, somewhat re- semble carp, and abound in the lakes and rivers of the United States. The name was probably given on account of the protuberant or hump-like back, which rises highest near the front of the dorsal fin. Several species are recog- nized. See Ictiobinæ . buffalo-gnat (buf'a-lo-nat), n. A kind of black- fly, a dipterous insect of the genus Simulium and family Simuliida . It is found in almost incredi- bufalo , ble numbers in the southern and western United States, Pr. bubal i , bubal i , and is a dreaded pest of cattle, rendering the animals fran- bival , bial builo = Little Ru . baívol , baívol , bušvol , builo = Pol. bujwol , bawol (barred 1 ) = Bohem. buvol = = Serv. OBulg. buivoli , Bulg. buivolŭ , Bulg. bivol , bufalus , buffalus , bufolus (NL. bubal us , also as specific name buffel us ), buffel us ), bubal us , the wild ox, ear- lier and more properly an African antelope (= NGr. βούβαλος, βουβάλι, a buffalo), tic, and in some cases ses causing death. buffalo-gra (buf'a-lō-gras), n. A common name for several low gra es very prevalent upon the plains east of the Rocky Mountains, including Buchloë dactyloides , a diœcio us spe- cies, and Bouteloua oligostachya , with others of the same genus. buffalo-jack (buf'a-lō-jak), n (= buffalo-jack (buf'a-lō-jak), n. A fish of the fam- ily Carangid a, Caranx pisquetus. [Bermuda.] buffardt, n. [ME., bouffard , puffing, blowing, swelling; as a noun, a glutton; bouffer , puff, blow: see buff 2, and cf. buffer2 .] A fool. Yet wol she take a buffard riche of gret vile e, In hope that he shal sterue withynne a while. IMG:content-2692.png:[graphic] buffer (buf'er), n. [ buffere , buffen , boffen , stutter, stammer: see buff2 , v., and cf. buffard.] 1. A stammerer. The tunge of bufferes [L. balborum ] swiftli shal speke Wyclif , Isa. xxxii. 4 (Oxf.). IMG:content-2693.png:[blocks in formation] cars to prevent injury from violent contact or collision. The buffer shown above, which represents the form com- mon on British railways, consists of powerful springs and framing attached to carriages and wagons to deaden the concu ion between them when they come into collision. Hence-3. Anything which serves to deaden or neutralize the shock of opposing forces. It is evident that the period of an indefinitely collaps- the draw-bar, to keep the cars from coming together if the draw-bar gives way.-2. The flat head of a buffer-bar. See cut under buffers. Also called buffing - block .