puffin

[ puhf-in ]

noun

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.

Origin of puffin

First recorded in 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. 2023

How to use puffin in a sentence

The puffins alone were calm, swimming in coveys on the glassy water and leaving long ripples in their wake.
The Beach of Dreams | H. De Vere Stacpoole
These birds do not stand upright as do the Puffins; but sit upon their tarsus.
Western Bird Guide | Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed, Harry F. Harvey, and Rex I. Brasher
I can't think it's on account of their looks; for there's the kiwi, the hornbill, and sakes alive—the puffins!
The Adventures of a Grain of Dust | Hallam Hawksworth
Puffins, ducks, and white sea-gulls showed up in very great numbers.
The English at the North Pole | Jules Verne
It is similar both in size and shape to that of the Puffins, but is often quite heavily blotched with brown.
The Bird Book | Chester A. Reed

British Dictionary definitions for puffin

puffin

/ (ˈpʌfɪn) /

noun

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

Origin of puffin

C14: perhaps of Cornish origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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