pouf
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: po͝of, IPA(key): /pʊf/
- (US)
- IPA(key): /puːf/
Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ʊf, -uːf
- Homophones: poof, pouffe (with certain dialects and/or accents)
Etymology 1
From French pouf, pouff, of imitative origin; compare puff.
Alternative forms
- pouffe
Noun
pouf (plural poufs)
- (historical) A headdress for women popular in 18th century France. [from 18th c.]
- A high hair style for women consisting of a roll or pad of hair, worn up. [from 19th c.]
- 2009 February 10, Katie Thomas, “The Poodle Can’t Talk Now; She’s in With Her Stylist”, in New York Times:
- Hosaka, nearly everyone agrees, is a master of detail, an artist who tends his poodles’ poufs as if they were bonsai trees from his native Japan.
-
- (dressmaking) Part of an item of clothing consisting of gathered fabric in a bunch. [from 19th c.]
- A low cushioned seat with no back; a padded footstool. [from 19th c.]
- Synonym: tumpty
- 1922, H.D., Asphodel:
- The voice came from the end of the divan but Hermione, seated square before the fire on a low pouffe did not turn to face its suave producer.
- 1948, John Creasey, The Case Against Paul Raeburn:
- Raeburn's handsome head was resting against the back of his chair; Eve sat on a pouf in front of the fire.
- 1971, ‘Slaughter at the Summer Palace’, Time, 26 Aug 1971:
- Italian Ambassador Amedeo Guillet, who makes it a practice never to eat at midday, lounged on a Moroccan pouf reading The Peter Principle.
- A short skirt gathered into a rounded puffy shape; a puffball. [from 20th c.]
- A ball of fabric (such as nylon monofilament netting) used for washing (as an alternative to a flannel, washcloth, sponge, etc.).
- (dated) A small saddle cushion worn atop the buttocks (as a fashion trend – similar to a bustle).
- Alternative form of puff
- Alternative form of poof
Synonyms
- (padded footstool): footstool, hassock, ottoman, tumpty
- (homosexual): horse's hoof (rhyming slang), poofta; pooftah; poofter; poof
Translations
padded footstool
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Verb
pouf (third-person singular simple present poufs, present participle poufing, simple past and past participle poufed)
- (transitive) To make poufy or bouffant.
- to pouf the hair
Etymology 2
Imitative.
Alternative forms
poof
Interjection
pouf
- Onomatopoeia indicating a cloud of smoke or wind; caused by a deflating object, or a magical disappearance.
- Pouf, he was gone.
Anagrams
- FOUP
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /puf/
Audio (file)
Noun
pouf m (plural poufs)
- pouffe (thick cushion)
- a girl of bad conduct
Descendants
- → Portuguese: pufe
Interjection
pouf
- poof (onomatopoeia)
Further reading
- “pouf”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.