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Buff

1. A sort of leather, prepared from the skin of the buffalo, dressed with oil, like chamois; also, the skins of oxen, elks, and other animals, dressed in like manner. A suit of buff.

2. The colour to buff; a light yellow, shading toward pink, gray, or brown. A visage rough, Deformed, unfeatured, and a skin of buff. (Dryden)

3. A military coat, made of buff leather.

4. (Science: medicine) The grayish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat. See Buffy coat, under Buffy.

5. (Science: mechanics) a wheel covered with buff leather, and used in polishing cutlery, spoons, etc.

6. The bare skin; as, to strip to the buff. To be in buff is equivalent to being naked. (Wright)

Origin: oe. Buff, buffe, buff, buffalo, f. Buffle buffalo. See buffalo.

1. Made of buff leather.

2. Of the colour of buff. Buff coat, a close, military outer garment, with short sleeves, and laced tightly over the chest, made of buffalo skin, or other thick and elastic material, worn by soldiers in the 17th century as a defensive covering. Buff jerkin, originally, a leather waistcoat; afterward, one of cloth of a buff colour.

(Science: mechanics) buff stick, a strip of wood covered with buff leather, used in polishing.