Puffin
/ˈpʌf.ɪn/noun
A small seabird with a colorful bill, found in the North Atlantic.
Did you know?The English word originally referred to the cured, salted flesh of a young shearwater, and only later shifted to the bird itself after people associated the food name with the animal.
Etymological Timeline
Late Middle English
English
puffin
“A young or cured seabird, especially the flesh of a shearwater used as food”
16th Century
English
puffin
“The bird name begins to be applied to the seabird itself”
16th Century
English
puffin
“Likely influenced by the sense of something plump or puffed up, though the exact origin is uncertain”
Early Modern English
English
puffin
“A small seabird with a rounded body and large bill”
Modern English
English
puffin
“The familiar Atlantic seabird name”