buf

buf¹ owl

Pronunciation

• [buf]^[1]

Forms

buf m (plural bufi)^[1]

Etymology

The word for the owl is inherited from Late Latin būfus (“owl”), a by-form of būbō, probably imitative.^[2][1][3][4] Nocentini takes būfō for an Osco-Umbrian variant of the classical word.^[5] It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian buf and Megleno-Romanian buf.^[6][7][8][2] Its Romance cognates include Italian gufo, Spanish búho and Portuguese bufo.^[2][5] Albanian has buf, and Pascu says that Greek borrowed μπούφος (boúfos) from Aromanian.^[6][7]

Ciorănescu notes that the simple form is rare: the usual forms are blends with words of the neighbouring languages, such as buhă after Hungarian buhu and puhaci after Polish puhacz.^[2] DELR lists the word as a variant of that one, and sees the Latin word directly in it and in the forms south of the Danube; for DELR the forms with /h/ come from the imitative cry buhu.^[4] Wiktionary rules out a derivation from buh, since /h/ does not become /f/ in such variants.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic) An owl; the same as buhă.^[1][2][9]

buf² interjection, thud (DEX buf¹)

Pronunciation

• [buf]^[1]

Etymology

The interjection is imitative, a word for a dull, sudden noise.^[10][11][12] Ciorănescu calls it an expressive creation and notes that it matches a Slavic root meaning “to strike hard”, continued in Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian and Russian verbs, so Miklosich derived the Romanian word from Slavic.^[2] The same expressive root has often blended with the imitative root of the owl's name.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1847, in Pann;^[10] Tiktin also dates it to 1847.^[12] Creangă has it in his tales (1890): „Și cum ospăta el, buf! cade fără sine în groapa cu jaratic” “and as he was feasting, thud! he falls senseless into the pit of embers”.^[9][12]

Semantic evolution

Besides falls and blows, the word imitates a shot; the variants bof and bofa are used for gunshots: „Afară bof! bof! câteva descărcături de pușcă” “outside, bang! bang!, a few shots”.^[12][10] Ciorănescu derives from it the verbs bufni “to burst out; to thud” and răbufni “to burst out”, and the noun bufneală “sudden noise”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1847 – first records, in Anton Pann and in Heliade.^[10][12]
• 1886 – the verb bufui “to push one's way with the fist”, in the Apuseni Mountains.^[10]
• 1890 – Creangă's tales.^[9]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Imitates the dull thud of a hard object falling, of a blow or of an explosion: și buf! sacul a căzut din car.^[11][9]

Word family

• bufni
• bufneală
• răbufni
• bufui

buf³ comic, buffo (DEX buf³)

Pronunciation

• [buf]^[1]

Forms

buf m (feminine singular bufă, masculine plural bufi, feminine plural bufe)^[13]

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from French bouffe (as in opéra bouffe) and directly borrowed from Italian buffo (“comic”) (as in opera buffa).^[14][15][16] DILF gives French alone.^[13] The Italian word is probably a back-formation from buffone (“buffoon”), from the older Italian buffa (“jest”), or comes directly from an imitative base of puffing.^[14]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1846, as opera-bufa in Voinescu's Corina.^[14] MDA2 gives DA (1913) as the first record.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is used mostly in the feminine, in operă bufă “comic opera”.^[14] From the operas it spread to comedies, to the singers and actors who play comic roles, and to the roles themselves.^[9][13]

Timeline

• 1846 – opera-bufa in Voinescu's Corina.^[14]
• 1913 – DA records the adjective.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of comedies) Exaggeratedly comic, grotesque or caricatural.^[9][13][16]
2. (of musical works) Written in a light lyric genre: operă bufă, opera buffa.^[9][13]
3. (of actors and singers) Specialised in comic roles;^[9][13] (of roles) typical of comedy or comic opera.^[9][13]