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baff

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baff¹

  • /bæf/

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

From Middle English baffen (“to bark”). Cognate with Dutch baffen (“to bark”), Low German baffen (“to bark”), German baffen, bäfzen (“to bark”), Danish bjæffe (“to yelp”), Swedish bjäbba (“to yelp, bark”). Compare buff, yaff.

verb baffs · baffing · baffed

  1. archaic, intransitive To bark; yelp.

baff²

  • /bæf/

Rhymes with -æf

Where it comes from

Probably from Scots baff, beff, bauf, probably from West Flemish baf, baffe (“a blow, slap in the face”). Compare also Old French baffe (“slap in the face”) (Modern French baffe), of imitative origin.

verb baffs · baffing · baffed

  1. To hit or strike, especially with something flat or soft.
  2. To strike the ground with the bottom of the club when taking a stroke.

baff³

  • /bæf/

Rhymes with -æf

noun

  1. Geordie, Scotland, uncountable blank

BAFF⁴

noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of B-cell activating factor

proper noun

  1. abbreviation, initialism Initialism of British Armed Forces Federation
  2. abbreviation, historical, initialism Initialism of British Air Forces in France

Baff⁵

proper noun

  1. A surname

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Cite this
MLA

"baff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/baff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

baff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/baff

Chicago

"baff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/baff.

BibTeX
@misc{baff_2026,
  title = {baff},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/baff},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}