tuff

noun, adj — 3 senses

tuff

noun

/tʌf/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der. Proto-Italic *tūβosder. Oscanbor.? Latin tōfusder. Italian tufobor. French tufbor. English tuff From French tuffe, tuf, from Italian tufo, from Latin tōfus. Doublet of tufa.

1

Geography, Geology, Natural sciences A light porous rock, now especially a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel.

  • This is what makes an ignimbrite; the general term for this kind of volcaniclastic rock is ‘tuff’.2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 9n:
Derived terms
calc-tuff, tuffaceous, tuff breccia, tuffite, tufflava

tuff

adj

Etymology Eye dialect of tough.

1

Pronunciation spelling Eye dialect spelling of tough.

  • Tuff Stuff teaches that while life may go smoothly most of the time, ...1980, Joy Wilt Berry, Ernie Hergenroeder, Tuff Stuff: A Children's Book about Trauma, Educational Products Division, Word, Inc., →ISBN:
  • … yet never to make us so strong as the strongest of Men, whose Sinnews are tuffer, and Bones stronger, and Joints closer, and Flesh firmer, than ours are …2000, Margaret Cavendish, “Preface to the Reader (1655)”, in Sylvia Bowerbank, Sara Mendelson, editors, Paper Bodies, →ISBN, page 139:
4 more examples
  • It was rave reviewed in the Caribbean Times as 'the ruffest, tuffest and the boo-yacka of all modern gangster novels'.2003, Ronald Carter, The Routledge Guide to Modern EnglishWriting, Routledge, →ISBN, page 96:
  • TUFF METER2006, Paige Hemmis, The Tuff Chix Guide to Easy Home Improvement, Penguin, →ISBN, page 36:
  • Its Tuff-n-Tiny USB flash drive is about the size of a thumbnail. … The company insists that the "tuff" part of the name is well-earned for being waterproof, dustproof and you can drive a car over it.2010 January 20, Robert J. Elisberg, “CES 2020 -- Ohm on the Range”, in Huffington Post, retrieved 14 Sep 2012:
  • Tuff Stuff Professional Wrestling2011, Kristian Pope, Tuff Stuff Professional Wrestling Field Guide: Legend and Lore, Krause Publications, →ISBN:
2

Internet, Ironic, Often Impressive, amazing, awesome, cool.

  • bro thinks he's tuff
Derived terms
tuffness

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.