muff
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muff¹
- /mʌf/ US, UK
- /mɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /mʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
Probably from Dutch mof (“muff, mitten”).
noun muffs
- A piece of fur or cloth, usually open at both ends, used to keep the hands warm. Selwyn, sitting up rumpled and cross-legged on the floor, after having boloed Drina to everybody's exquisite satisfaction, looked around at the sudden rustle of skirts to catch a glimpse of a vanishing figure—a glimmer of ruddy hair and the white curve of a youthful face, half-buried in a muff.
-
The vulva or vagina; pubic hair around it.
.
Similar: muffin, axe wound, bearded clam, beaver, berk, bonne bouche, box, bun, bush, cavern, clunge, coin slot
- A woman or girl.
- A blown cylinder of glass which is afterward flattened out to make a sheet.
- The feathers sticking out from both sides of the face under the beak of some birds.
- A short hollow cylinder surrounding an object such as a pipe.
Similar: whiskers, beard, muff and beard:
muff²
- /mʌf/ US, UK
- /mɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /mʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
Unknown; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above; or perhaps related to Dutch muffen (“to dote”) and German muffen (“to sulk”).
noun muffs
- A fool, a stupid or poor-spirited person. Can you fancy that such an old creature (an old muff, as you call him, you wicked, satirical man!) could ever make en impression on my heart?
- An error, a mistake; a failure to hold a ball when once in the hands.
- A bird, the whitethroat.
verb muffs · muffing · muffed
- To drop or mishandle (the ball, a catch etc.); to play badly.
- To mishandle; to bungle. The play got off to a bad start when the actresses muffed the opening lines.
muff³
- /mʌf/ US, UK
- /mɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /mʊf/ Northern England
Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
Clipping of muffin.
noun muffs
- A muffin. Skinny lattes and a couple of blueberry muffs.
- A term of endearment. “They’re^([sic]) ARE thinking how sexy you look, Muff”. She heard it as plain as day. She turned, half expecting to see her Jim grinning at her. […] “Oh James!” Marsha smiled, […]
Muff⁴
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, variant of Mowe, itself from Middle English maugh (“son-in-law”), from Old Norse mágr.
* As a German and Alemannic German surname, from the noun mupf (“drooping mouth”), which is probably ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *mauwu (“protruding mouth, pout”).
proper noun Muffs
- A surname.
- A diminutive of the female given name Myfanwy.
proper noun
- A village in County Donegal, Ireland.
- An unincorporated community in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States.
Thesaurus
noun
Similar: whiskers, beard, muff and beard:
Translations
Every language
noun a piece of fur or cloth for keeping the hands warm
| Español | manguito |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 토시 tosi, 머프 meopeu |
| 日本語 | マフ mafu |
| 中文 | 手籠 /手笼 shǒulóng |
| Português | regalo |
| Français | manchon |
| Deutsch | Muff |
| Italiano | manicotto |
| Русский | му́фта múfta |
noun pubic hair
| Português | pentelho |
|---|---|
| Français | toison, touffe |
| Italiano | pelo pubico, fica |
| Русский | мохнатка moxnatka |
noun an error
| Italiano | fallo |
|---|
Talk about this word "muff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/muff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. muff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/muff "muff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/muff.Cite this
@misc{muff_2026,
title = {muff},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/muff},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
