buffalo definition | Dictionary.com

buf⋅fa⋅lo

[buhf-uh-loh]

noun, plural -loes, -los, (especially collectively

) -lo, verb, -loed, -lo⋅ing.

–noun

1.	any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae. Compare bison, Cape buffalo, water buffalo.

2.	buffalo robe.

3.	a buffalofish.

4.	a shuffling tap-dance step.

–verb (used with object) Informal.

5.	to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify: He was buffaloed by the problem.

6.	to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, etc.: The older boys buffaloed him.

Origin:
1535–45, Americanism; earlier bufalo < Pg (now bufaro) < LL būfalus, var. of L būbalus bubal

Buf⋅fa⋅lo

[buhf-uh-loh]

–noun

a port in W New York, on Lake Erie. 357,870.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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buf·fa·lo (bŭf'ə-lō')

n. pl. buffalo or buf·fa·loes or buf·fa·los

1. Any of several oxlike Old World mammals of the family Bovidae, such as the water buffalo and African buffalo.
2. The North American bison, Bison bison.
The buffalo fish.

tr.v. buf·fa·loed, buf·fa·lo·ing, buf·fa·loes

To intimidate, as by a display of confidence or authority: "The board couldn't buffalo the federal courts as it had the Comptroller" (American Banker).
To deceive; hoodwink: "Too often . . . job seekers have buffaloed lenders as to their competency and training" (H. Jane Lehman).
To confuse; bewilder.

[Italian bufalo or Portuguese or Spanish búfalo, from Late Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, antelope, buffalo, from Greek boubalos, perhaps from bous, cow; see g^wou- in Indo-European roots.]

Word History: The buffalo is so closely associated with the Wild West that one might assume that its name comes from a Native American word, as is the case with the words moose and skunk. In fact, however, buffalo can probably be traced back by way of one or more of the Romance languages through Late and Classical Latin and ultimately to the Greek word boubalos, meaning "an antelope or a buffalo." The buffalo referred to by the Greek and Latin words was of course not the American one but an Old World mammal, such as the water buffalo of southern Asia. Applied to the North American mammal, buffalo is a misnomer, bison being the preferred term. As far as everyday usage is concerned, however, buffalo, first recorded for the American mammal in 1635, is older than bison, first recorded in 1774.

Buf·fa·lo (bŭf'ə-lō')

A city of western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie on the Canadian border. It is a major Great Lakes port of entry and an important manufacturing and milling center. Population: 276,000.
Buf'fa·lo'ni·an adj. & n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Buffalo

Buf"fa*lo\, n.; pl. Buffaloes. [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. ? buffalo, prob. fr. ? ox. See Cow the animal, and cf. Buff the color, and Bubale.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) 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.

2. (Zo["o]l.) A very large and savage species of the same genus (B. Caffer) found in South Africa; -- called also Cape buffalo.

3. (Zo["o]l.) Any species of wild ox.

4. (Zo["o]l.) The bison of North America.

5. A buffalo robe. See Buffalo robe, below.

6. (Zo["o]l.) The buffalo fish. See Buffalo fish, below.

Buffalo berry (Bot.), a shrub of the Upper Missouri (Sherherdia argentea) with acid edible red berries.

Buffalo bird (Zo["o]l.), an African bird of the genus Buphaga, of two species. These birds perch upon buffaloes and cattle, in search of parasites.

Buffalo bug, the carpet beetle. See under Carpet.

Buffalo chips, dry dung of the buffalo, or bison, used for fuel. [U.S.]

Buffalo clover (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium reflexum and T.soloniferum) found in the ancient grazing grounds of the American bison.

Buffalo cod (Zo["o]l.), a large, edible, marine fish (Ophiodon elongatus) of the northern Pacific coast; -- called also blue cod, and cultus cod.

Buffalo fish (Zo["o]l.), one of several large fresh-water fishes of the family Catostomid[ae], of the Mississippi valley. The red-mouthed or brown (Ictiobus bubalus), the big-mouthed or black (Bubalichthys urus), and the small-mouthed (B. altus), are among the more important species used as food.

Buffalo fly, or Buffalo gnat (Zo["o]l.), a small dipterous insect of the genus Simulium, allied to the black fly of the North. It is often extremely abundant in the lower part of the Mississippi valley and does great injury to domestic animals, often killing large numbers of cattle and horses. In Europe the Columbatz fly is a species with similar habits.

Buffalo grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass (Buchlo["e] dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed. [U.S.]

Buffalo nut (Bot.), the oily and drupelike fruit of an American shrub (Pyrularia oleifera); also, the shrub itself; oilnut.

Buffalo robe, the skin of the bison of North America, prepared with the hair on; -- much used as a lap robe in sleighs.

Language Translation for : buffalo

Spanish: búfalo,

German: der Büffel,

Japanese: 水牛

More Translations »

Buffalo

City in western New York, on Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

Note: Niagara Falls is northwest of Buffalo.

buffalo

1588, from Port. bufalo "water buffalo," from L. bufalus, var. of bubalus "wild ox," from Gk. boubalos "buffalo," originally a kind of African antelope, later used of a type of domesticated ox in southern Asia and the Mediterranean lands, from bous "ox, cow." Wrongly applied since c.1635 to the American bison. The verb meaning "to overawe" is from 1903. Buffalo wings finger food so called because the recipe was invented in Buffalo, N.Y., (1964, at Frank & Teressa's Anchor Bar on Main Street).

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