puffin
[puhf-in]
- 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.
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Origin of puffin
1300–50; Middle English poffoun, poffin, puffon (compare Anglo-Latin poffo, puffo); origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for puffin
Contemporary Examples
For the adventurous, try the reindeer or puffin; for those feeling fishy, go for arctic char or the array of sushi.
Historical Examples
He's my friend, and—and I don't like to see him puffin' like that.
Mixed FacesRoy Norton
I did know that; but I thought you'd have had on your very best so as to soften the Puffin's heart.
Lalage's LoversGeorge A. Birmingham
We must hope that the Puffin may prove, as she expects, to be a disguised lamb.
Lalage's LoversGeorge A. Birmingham
Puffin turned from him in scorn, still concealing his own bag.
Miss MappEdward Frederic Benson
“Three and a half to four times, I should say,” repeated Puffin.
Miss MappEdward Frederic Benson
puffin
- 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
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Word Origin
C14: perhaps of Cornish origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for puffin
n.
North Atlantic seabird, mid-14c., perhaps connected with puff on notion of appearance, or from some Celtic word (earliest association is with Cornwall and Scilly), and altered by influence of puff.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper