Etymology

bluff

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Today it means: An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio. Full definition →

Dutch bluffen ← Middle Dutch bluffen
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bluff · noun, verb1

  1. Middle Dutch · derived frombluffen“to make something swell; to bluff”
  2. Dutch · borrowed frombluffen“to brag”
  3. English todaybluff

Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”).

bluff · noun, adjective2

Related to Middle Low German blaff (“smooth”).

bluff · verb3

Possibly onomatopoeic, perhaps related to blow and puff.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.