- [countable] (used in compounds) a person who is very interested in a particular subject or activity and knows a lot about it
- a film/movie/history buff
- an opera buff
- They were a group of computer buffs who used to meet every Thursday evening.
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- [uncountable] a pale yellow-brown colour synonym beige
- (informal) (in a new version of a computer game) an increase in the power of a character, weapon, etc.
- Some weapons will receive buffs in the next update.
see also blind man’s buff
Word Originnoun senses 2 to 3 mid 16th cent.: probably from French buffle, from Italian bufalo, from late Latin bufalus, from earlier bubalus, from Greek boubalos ‘antelope, wild ox’. The original sense in English was ‘buffalo’, later ‘oxhide’ or ‘colour of oxhide’. noun sense 1 early 20th cent.: from the colour buff, originally applied to enthusiastic fire-watchers, because of the buff uniforms formerly worn by New York volunteer firemen.
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