Buffalo

¹

[buhf-uh-loh]

noun

1. a port in W New York, on Lake Erie.

buffalo

²

[buhf-uh-loh]

noun

plural

buffaloes, buffalos ,

plural

buffalo .

1. any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.

2. buffalo robe.

3. a buffalofish.

4. a shuffling tap-dance step.

verb (used with object)

Informal.

buffaloed, buffaloing 

1. to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify.

   He was buffaloed by the problem.

2. to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, etc..

   The older boys buffaloed him.

Buffalo

¹

/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /

noun

1. a port in W New York State, at the E end of Lake Erie. Pop: 285 018 (2003 est)

buffalo

²

/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /

noun

1. Also called: Cape buffalo. a member of the cattle tribe, Syncerus caffer , mostly found in game reserves in southern and eastern Africa and having upward-curving horns

2. short for water buffalo

3. Also called: bison. a member of the cattle tribe, Bison bison , formerly widely distributed over the prairies of W North America but now confined to reserves and parks, with a massive head, shaggy forequarters, and a humped back

verb

1. (often passive) to confuse

2. to intimidate

Buffalo

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

Niagara Falls is northwest of Buffalo.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Buffalo¹

1535–45, earlier bufalo < Portuguese (now bufaro ) < Late Latin būfalus, variant of Latin būbalus bubal

Word History and Origins

Origin of Buffalo¹

C16: from Italian bufalo , from Late Latin būfalus , alteration of Latin būbalus ; see _bubal

Example Sentences

As a young father, Craig moved his family to the Northern Territories of Australia, where he wrangled “scrub bulls and buffalo” that had escaped from herds and needed to be sent to market.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Judy, the first rabbit to join the city's police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department.

Read more on Barron's

Her father, a club cricketer and clerk at the district court, sold milk from the family's four buffaloes to support the household.

Read more on BBC

Like the other traditionals among the Cheyennes and Lakotas, he had desired simply to follow the old way of life—hunting buffalo, raiding tribal enemies and camping where he wished.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Faced with poaching and the gradual destruction of their natural habitats, big mammals have largely disappeared, according to the survey which underlined the need to protect chimpanzees, buffaloes and elephants.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• agitate 
• bewilder 
• chill 
• confound 
• daunt 
• demoralize 
• disconcert 
• discourage 
• dishearten 
• dismay 
• dispirit 
• distract 
• fluster 
• frighten 
• perturb 
• rattle 
• sap 
• shake 
• undermine 
• unsettle