Bufflehead
/ˈbʌfəlˌhɛd/noun
A small North American diving duck with a large rounded head and striking black-and-white plumage.
Did you know?The name was originally a folk term for the bird’s bulky, puffed-up head, and its first element likely connects to old English dialect words for a swollen or thick-headed person rather than anything mystical.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
bufflehead
“A thick-headed or foolish person; later, a name applied to the duck for its bulky head.”
17th–18th Century
English
buffel- / buffle-
“A dialectal or colloquial element meaning swollen, thick, or clumsy, used in descriptive nicknames.”
Middle English
English
buff
“A blow or puff; later also a thick leather, and in some dialectal uses, something swollen or plump.”
Old French
Old French
bufe / bufele
“A puff, blow, or swelling; related to words for striking or puffing out.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰeuH-
“To swell, puff up, or blow.”