Where does “puffin” come from?
puffin (French) comes from English puffin, from Middle English poffin, from English puff, from Middle English puff, from Old English pyf — a blast of wind, puff.
puffin (French): shearwater
Ancestry of “puffin”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | puffin | The young of the Manx shearwater , especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | poffin | — |
| 3 | English | puff | A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath... |
| 4 | Middle English | puff | — |
| 5 | Old English | pyf | a blast of wind, puff |
Words derived from “puffin”