English Dictionary: puff | by the DICT Development Group |
8 results for puff | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Puff \Puff\ (p[ucr]f), n. [Akin to G. & Sw. puff a blow, Dan. puf, D. pof; of imitative origin. Cf. {Buffet}.] 1. A sudden and single emission of breath from the mouth; hence, any sudden or short blast of wind; a slight gust; a whiff. [bd] To every puff of wind a slave.[b8] --Flatman. 2. Anything light and filled with air. Specifically: (a) A puffball. (b) a kind of light pastry. (c) A utensil of the toilet for dusting the skin or hair with powder. 3. An exaggerated or empty expression of praise, especially one in a public journal. {Puff adder}. (Zo[94]l.) (a) Any South African viper belonging to {Clotho} and allied genera. They are exceedingly venomous, and have the power of greatly distending their bodies when irritated. The common puff adder ({Vipera, [or] Clotho arietans}) is the largest species, becoming over four feet long. The plumed puff adder ({C. cornuta}) has a plumelike appendage over each eye. (b) A North American harmless snake ({Heterodon platyrrhinos}) which has the power of puffing up its body. Called also {hog-nose snake}, {flathead}, {spreading adder}, and {blowing adder}. {Puff bird} (Zo[94]l.), any bird of the genus {Bucco}, or family {Bucconid[91]}. They are small birds, usually with dull-colored and loose plumage, and have twelve tail feathers. See {Barbet} (b) . | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Puff \Puff\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Puffed} (p[ucr]ft); p. pr. & vb. n. {Puffing}.] [Akin to G. puffen to pop, buffet, puff, D. poffen to pop, puffen to blow, Sw. puffa to push, to cuff, Dan. puffe to pop, thump. See {Puff}, n.] 1. To blow in puffs, or with short and sudden whiffs. 2. To blow, as an expression of scorn; -- with at. It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation. --South. 3. To breathe quick and hard, or with puffs, as after violent exertion. The ass comes back again, puffing and blowing, from the chase. --L' Estrange. 4. To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated. --Boyle. 5. To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance. Then came brave Glory puffing by. --Herbert. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Puff \Puff\, v. t. 1. To drive with a puff, or with puffs. The clearing north will puff the clouds away. --Dryden. 2. To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously. I puff the prostitute away. --Dryden. 3. To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate; to ruffle with puffs; -- often with up; as, a bladder puffed with air. The sea puffed up with winds. --Shak. 4. To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, or the like; -- often with up. Puffed up with military success. --Jowett (Thucyd. ) 5. To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly. [bd] Puffed with wonderful skill.[b8] --Macaulay. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Puff \Puff\, a. Puffed up; vain. [R.] --Fanshawe. | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Puffball \Puff"ball`\, n. (Bot.) A kind of ball-shaped fungus ({Lycoperdon giganteum}, and other species of the same genus) full of dustlike spores when ripe; -- called also {bullfist}, {bullfice}, {puckfist}, {puff}, and {puffin}. | |
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]: | |
puff vt. To decompress data that has been crunched by Huffman coding. At least one widely distributed Huffman decoder program was actually _named_ `PUFF', but these days it is usually packaged with the encoder. Oppose {huff}, see {inflate}. | |
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]: | |
puff {Huffman coding}. At least one widely distributed Huffman decoder program was actually *named* "PUFF", but these days it is usually packaged with the encoder. Opposite: {huff}. [{Jargon File}] (1996-10-16) |