Puff

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /pÊŒf/

Definitions

  1. A quick release of air or vapor, the act of exhaling forcefully, and a light, airy food item or soft material are all encapsulated in this term
  2. This term refers to a brief outburst of air or smoke, a heavy breathing action, and a fluffy pastry or stuffing of some kind
  3. A small burst of air or smoke expelled suddenly ; a quick, heavy breath taken in effort or exertion ; a soft, airy food or cushion with a light texture

Etymology: The verb and the noun came into English from Old English along separate lines, and both sprang from the sound itself. Old English "pyffan" meant to breathe out or blow with the mouth, and "pyf" named a blast of wind. Neither word was borrowed from anywhere; their forms look like their meaning, a short explosive burst of breath that a speaker could hear in the word. That imitative quality helps explain why the same sound-shape turns up across the Germanic languages. Dutch "puf" meant puff, wind, and even fart, while German "puffen" and Swedish "puffa" carry the same sense of a sudden blowing. The cluster of "p" and "f" sounds seems to have been reshaped by speakers each time they needed a word for a quick gust.

Synonyms: blow, huff, exhale, inflate, swell

Antonyms: deflate, compress, collapse, squeeze, shrink