/ bʌf; NAmE / noun , adjective , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] (used in compounds) a person who is very interested in a particular subject or activity and knows a lot about it :
an opera buff
2.
[ U ] a pale yellow-brown colour
SYN beige
3.
[ U ] soft strong yellowish-brown leather
—see also blind man's buff
•
IDIOMS
- in the buff
SYN naked
■ adjective
1.
pale yellow-brown in colour :
a buff envelope
SYN beige
2.
( slang ) physically fit and attractive with big muscles
■ verb
[ vn ] buff sth (up) to polish sth with a soft cloth
••
WORD ORIGIN
noun senses 2 to 3 and adjective verb 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.