puffin

[puhf-in]

noun

1. any of several alcidine sea birds of the genera Fratercula and Lunda, having a short neck and a large, compressed, grooved bill, as F. arctica Atlantic puffin, of the North Atlantic.

puffin

/ ˈpʌfɪn /

noun

1. any of various northern diving birds of the family Alcidae (auks, etc), esp Fratercula arctica ( common or Atlantic puffin ), having a black-and-white plumage and a brightly coloured vertically flattened bill: order Charadriiformes

Word History and Origins

Origin of puffin¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English poffoun, poffin, puffon (compare Anglo-Latin poffo, puffo ); origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of puffin¹

C14: perhaps of Cornish origin

Example Sentences

Then in spring this year, cameras set up as part of the rat eradication programme caught two puffins coming and going from a nesting burrow on the cliff ledges.

Read more on BBC

When one of the puffins popped back to the surface he slammed into something hard.

Read more on Literature

The country's flora and fauna will feature on them all, with animals including the red squirrel, puffin and dormouse depicted.

Read more on BBC

A record number of puffins have been recorded on a small island off the Pembrokeshire coast, despite global populations declining rapidly.

Read more on BBC

"Safeguarding sandeel stocks is a key part of the jigsaw that will help set our puffins, kittiwakes and the wider marine environment on the path to recovery."

Read more on BBC