[buff.er] n, often attrib [buff, v., to react like a soft body when struck] (1835) 1: any of various devices or pieces of material for reducing shock or damage due to contact
2: a means or device used as a cushion against the shock of fluctuations in business or financial activity
3: something that serves as a protective barrier: as a: buffer state b: a person who shields another esp. from annoying routine matters c: mediator 1
4: a substance capable in solution of neutralizing both acids and bases and thereby maintaining the original acidity or basicity of the solution; also: a solution containing such a substance
5: a temporary storage unit (as in a computer); esp: one that accepts information at one rate and delivers it at another -- buff.ered adj
[2]buffer vt buf.fered ; buf.fer.ing (1894) 1: to lessen the shock of: cushion
2: to treat (as a solution or its acidity) with a buffer; also: to prepare (aspirin) with an antacid
3: to collect (as data) in a buffer [3]buffer n (1854): one that buffs