Fluff
/flʌf/noun
Soft, light, downy material or fine loose fibers; also trivial or insubstantial matter.
Did you know?English fluff is probably imitative in origin, echoing the soft, airy sound or feel of something light and downy rather than coming from a single ancient root.
Etymological Timeline
Early Modern English
English
fluff
“Soft down, loose fibers, or a light, airy mass.”
16th–17th Century
English
fluf(f)e
“A variant form used for downy or fuzzy material, likely imitative in shape and sound.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*flu- / *fluff-
“No secure reconstructed ancestor is established; the word is generally treated as expressive or imitative.”
Modern English
English
fluff
“Soft, light material; something trivial, insubstantial, or unnecessarily decorative.”