Where does “bouffe” come from?

bouffe (French) comes from Italian buffo, from Italian puf, from French pouf — pouffe; a girl of bad conduct; poof.

bouffe (French): singer of comic operas (bouffes)

Definitions

  1. singer of comic operas (bouffes)

Ancestry of “bouffe”, step by step

bouffe traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Italian buffo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianbuffofunny, comical, amusing; strange, odd, goofy;...
2Italianpufbeanbag; pouf
3Frenchpoufpouffe; a girl of bad conduct; poof

via French bouffer

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchboufferto eat; to eat, to worry; to consume in excess
2Old Frenchboufferto puff up; to blow
3Medieval Latinbuffa

Words derived from “bouffe

Every word from French poufEvery word from Italian pufEvery word from Italian buffo