bouffant
English edit
Etymology edit
French bouffant, from Middle French; present participle of bouffer (“to puff”). Doublet of buffont.
Pronunciation edit
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbuːfɑ̃/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (US) enPR: bo͞o-fäntʹ, IPA(key): /buˈfɑːnt/ or enPR: bo͞oʹfänt, IPA(key): /ˈbufɑːnt/
- Rhymes: -ɒnt
Adjective edit
bouffant (comparative more bouffant, superlative most bouffant)
- Of hair or clothing, full-bodied or puffy; puffed out away from head or body.
- Her bouffant suit made her seem much heavier than her petite figure actually was.
Noun edit
bouffant (plural bouffants)
- A puffy, round hairstyle, popular in the mid-to-late 16th century, characterized by hair raised high on the head and usually covering the ears or hanging down on the sides.
- 2009, David Walliams, Mr Stink:
- Mother went a little pale. “Preposterous!” she said. “I don’t know what’s got into you!” She fiddled with her bouffant, almost as if she was nervous.
- 2023 November 30, Matt Phillips, “Shane MacGowan, Songwriter Who Fused Punk and Irish Rebellion, Is Dead at 65”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
- But by the early 1980s the energy had largely drained from the punk movement, giving way to the synthesizers, eyeliner and bouffants of so-called New Romantic bands like Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants.
Derived terms edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (file)
Participle edit
bouffant
Further reading edit
- “bouffant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.