buffont
US/ˈbʌf.ənt/
buffont noun: an item of neckwear (a neckerchief), usually of linen, gauze, or lace, worn around the neck and puffed out over the bosom, popular from the 1750s to 1790s. Also the alternative form of bouffant.
Noun
buffont (plural buffonts)
- An item of neckwear (a neckerchief), usually of linen, gauze, or lace, worn around the neck and puffed out over the bosom, popular from the 1750s to 1790s.
- A [...] white ribbon was tied round her scraggy neck, while a buffont attempted to cover her bosom as flat as a deal board, [...]1782, The Hibernian Magazine, Or, Compendium of Entertaining Knowledge, page 91
- [...] : a disproportion arising from the fact of the body being contrived for the admission of a buffont, a piece of dress composed of gauze, or fine linen, which was worn over the neck and breast, strutting out like the front of a pouting pigeon.1857, The Journal of the British Archaeological Association, page 326
Also used as
buffont is also the alternative form of bouffant.
Forms of buffont
| plural | buffonts |
|---|---|
| alternative form | buffon |
| alternative form | buffant |
Origin of buffont
From French bouffant; doublet of bouffant, which see for more.
Questions about buffont
- What does buffont mean?
- Buffont means an item of neckwear (a neckerchief), usually of linen, gauze, or lace, worn around the neck and puffed out over the bosom, popular from the 1750s to 1790s.
- What part of speech is buffont?
- Buffont is a noun.
- How do you pronounce buffont?
- Buffont is pronounced /ˈbʌf.ənt/ (US).
- What is the plural of buffont?
- The plural of buffont is buffonts.
Words near buffont in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: buffont (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “buffont.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/buffont. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.