buffo

[ boo-foh; Italian boof-faw ]

noun,plural buf·fi [boo-fee Italian boof-fee], /ˈbu fi Italian ˈbuf fi/, buf·fos.Music.
  1. (in opera) a comedy part, usually bass.

  2. a male opera singer who specializes in comic roles.

Origin of buffo

1
1755–65; <Italian: ridiculous, comic actor who takes comic parts; back formation from buffonebuffoon

Words Nearby buffo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use buffo in a sentence

  • That, my dear buffo,” I replied, “is on account of the lava.

    Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones
  • I will tell you presently,” replied the buffo, “we must first go upstairs.

    Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones
  • And this must be Rosina,” whispered the buffo; “Dio mio, how death has aged her!

    Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones
  • The buffo said they had made the experiment of shortening it.

    Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones
  • So you see, buffo, you need not trouble about your clothes if you want to appear English.

    Castellinaria | Henry Festing Jones

British Dictionary definitions for buffo

buffo

/ (ˈbʊfəʊ, Italian ˈbuffo) /


nounplural -fi (-fɪ) or -fos
  1. (in Italian opera of the 18th century) a comic part, esp one for a bass

  2. Also called: buffo bass, basso buffo (Italian ˈbasso ˈbuffo) a bass singer who performs such a part

Origin of buffo

1
C18: from Italian (adj): comic, from buffo (n) buffoon

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012