English
puff
Puff comes from Old English pyf ‘a blast of wind, puff’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)-.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*puf(f)-‘to blow, puff’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150pyf‘a blast of wind, puff’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500puff
- Englishearliest quotation 1598same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*puf(f)-‘to blow, puff’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150pyf‘a blast of wind, puff’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500puff
- Englishearliest quotation 1598same form
Earliest quotation: 1598, John Florio, A Worlde of Wordes: “Bozzacchio, an acorne. Also a puffe or mushrump full…”
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)-
Another origin of puff
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*puf(f)-‘to blow, puff’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*puffjanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150pyffan‘to breathe out, blow with the mouth’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500puffen
- Englishtodaypuff
Today it means
noun A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- / puff