buffo

See also: Buffo and buffò

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian buffo.

Noun

buffo (plural buffos or buffi)

1. (music) A comic singer, particularly in comic opera
   • 2007 January 27, Vivien Schweitzer, “Young Lovers, a Vespa and a Frolic by Rossini”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 December 2024:

     Signor Bruschino was updated from a generic buffo character to an oily, scholarly-looking, suit-clad neurotic, excellently acted and sung by Marco Nistico.

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbuf.fo/
• Rhymes: -uffo
• Hyphenation: bùf‧fo

Etymology 1

Compare Old French bouffer, originally "to puff up;" both are inherited from Medieval Latin buffa, itself echoic of puffing out cheeks.

Adjective

buffo (feminine buffa, masculine plural buffi, feminine plural buffe, superlative buffissimo, adverb buffamente)

1. funny, comical, amusing
2. strange, odd, goofy
3. whimsical
4. playful

Derived terms

• opera buffa

Related terms

• buffa
• buffare
• puffo

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Noun

buffo m (plural buffi)

1. gust (of wind)

   Synonyms: folata, soffio

2. puff (of smoke)

   Synonym: sbuffo

Derived terms

• rabbuffare

Related terms

• bufare
• buffare

Etymology 3

Alteration of puf, from French pouf (“debt”), used in locutions such as faire pouf and à pouf.

Noun

buffo m (plural buffi)

1. (Rome, usually in the plural) debt

   Synonym: debito

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

buffo

1. first-person singular present indicative of buffare

Further reading

• “buffo¹”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• “buffo²”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026
• “buffo³”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026