Buffalo
/ˈbʌf.ə.loʊ/noun
A large wild ox of the genus Bubalus or Syncerus, or the American bison.
Did you know?English got buffalo through French and Italian from Portuguese bufalo, which came from Latin bufalus, originally used for a kind of wild ox and ultimately tied to Greek boubalos, a name for a buffalo or antelope-like animal.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
boubalos
“A buffalo or antelope-like wild animal”
Late Latin
Latin
bufalus
“A wild ox or buffalo”
Medieval Latin
Latin
buffalus
“A buffalo”
Old French
French
bufle
“A buffalo”
14th–16th Century
Portuguese/Italian
bufalo
“A buffalo”
17th Century
English
buffalo
“A buffalo; later also the American bison”
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