BUFF a.
uff coat, a close, military outer garment, with short sleeves, and laced tightly over the chest, made of buffalo skin, or other thick and elastic material, worn by soldiers in the 17th century as a defensive covering. -- Buff jerkin, originally, a leather waistcoat; afterward, one of cloth of a buff color. [Obs.] Nare…
BUFFALO n.
o grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass (Buchloë dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed. [U.S.] -- Buffalo nut (Bot.), the oily and drupelike fruit of an American shrub (Pyrularia oleifera); also, the shrub itself; oilnut. -- Buffalo robe, the…
BUHL; BUHLWORK n.
which tortoise shell, yellow metal, white metal, etc., are inlaid, forming scrolls, cartouches, etc. [Written also boule, boulework.]
BUOY n.
, a large buoy on which a bell is mounted, to be rung by the motion of the waves. -- Breeches buoy. See under Breeches. -- Cable buoy, an empty cask employed to buoy up the cable in rocky anchorage. -- Can buoy, a hollow buoy made of sheet or boiler iron, usually conical or pear-shaped. -- Life buoy, a float intend…
BUREAU n.
A chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture. [U.S.] Bureau system. See Bureaucracy. -- Bureau Veritas, an institution, in the interest of maritime underwriters, for the survey and rating of vessels all over the world. It was founded in Belgium in 1828, removed to Paris in 1…