buffer
pronunciation
How to pronounce buffer in British English:
UK [ˈbʌfə(r)]
How to pronounce buffer in American English:
US [ˈbʌfər]
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- Noun:
- an ionic compound that resists changes in its pH
- an inclined metal frame at the front of a locomotive to clear the track
- (computer science) a part of RAM used for temporary storage of data that is waiting to be sent to a device; used to compensate for differences in the rate of flow of data between components of a computer system
- a power tool used to buff surfaces
- a cushion-like device that reduces shock due to contact
- an implement consisting of soft material mounted on a block; used for polishing (as in manicuring)
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- Verb:
- add a buffer (a solution)
- protect from impact
Word Origin
- buffer
- buffer: Neither buffer ‘fellow’ [18] nor buffer ‘shock absorber’ [19] can be traced back with any certainty to a source, but the likeliest conjecture is that they both come (independently) from an obsolete English verb buff, which was probably originally (like puff) imitative of the sound of blowing or breathing out. The earliest recorded sense of this, in the late 13th century, was ‘stammer’, and so the human buffer may originally have been a ‘stammerer’. By the 16th century we find the verb being used in the sense ‘make the sound of something soft being hit’, which is a likely source of buffer ‘shock absorber’.
- buffer (n.)
- 1835, agent noun from obsolete verb buff "make a dull sound when struck" (mid-16c.), from Old French bufe "a blow, slap, punch" (see buffet (n.2)); hence also "something that absorbs a blow."
- buffer (v.)
- 1894, from buffer (n.). Related: Buffered; buffering.
Example
- 1. In other cases it offers a buffer against rejection .
- 2. These reserves provide a buffer for banks when liquidity dries up in financial markets .
- 3. The crisis has depleted that buffer .
- 4. That is a massive safety buffer .
- 5. A buffer zone was clearly needed .