buffalo
UK /ˈbʌf.əl.əʊ/ · US /ˈbʌf.ə.loʊ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms buffaloes buffalos buffaloing buffaloed
- noun An animal from the subtribe Bubalina, also known as true buffalos, such as the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer, or the water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.
- noun A related North American animal, the American bison, Bison bison.
- noun The buffalo fish (Ictiobus spp.).
- noun (US slang) A nickel.
- noun (slang, US, historical) A looter during the Civil War.
- noun (slang, derogatory) A large or stupid person.
- noun (slang, derogatory) An obese person, usually a woman.
- noun (slang, derogatory, offensive) A black male.
- verb (transitive) To hunt buffalo.
- verb (US, slang, transitive) To outwit, confuse, deceive, or intimidate.
- verb (archaic, transitive) To pistol-whip.
- proper noun A major city, the county seat of Erie County, New York, USA; very near Niagara Falls.
- proper noun A small city in Scott County, Iowa.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Wright County, Minnesota.
- proper noun A city, the county seat of Dallas County, Missouri.
- proper noun A town, the county seat of Harper County, Oklahoma.
- proper noun A census-designated place in Union County, South Carolina.
- proper noun A town, the county seat of Harding County, South Dakota.
- proper noun A small city in Leon County, Texas.
Synonyms
buffle cow bulldoze bully browbeat dastardize daunt dishearten do down domineer drive hector intimidate menace strong-arm American bison American buffalo Bison bison Old World buffalo
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish búfalo (“buffalo”), from Late Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, from Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos, “antelope, wild ox”). Doublet of bubale and buffle.
*(North America): Probably from buffalo (“American bison”) (Bison bison), since both cities are in regions that had wild herds at the time the names originated. Buffalo, New York was named after the Buffalo River, which an alternative etymology says is from French beau fleuve (“beautiful river”), but the more likely explanation is that it was named for the animal.
*(South Africa): From buffalo (Syncerus caffer), subsp. Cape buffalo commonly found in the region.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A species of the genus Bos or Bubalus (B. bubalus), originally from India, but now found in most of the warmer countries of the eastern continent. It is larger and less docile than the common ox, and is fond of marshy places and rivers.
- noun A very large and savage species of the same genus (B. Caffer) found in South Africa; --called also Cape buffalo.
Etymology [Sp. bufalo (cf. It. bufalo, F. buffle), fr. L. bubalus, bufalus, a kind of African stag or gazelle; also, the buffalo or wild ox, fr. Gr. Cow the animal, and cf. Buff the color, and Bubale.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “buffalo”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details