Buffalo Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (2024)

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What is a buffalo definition? ›

A buffalo is a large, ox-like animal with horns and shaggy fur. In North America, a buffalo is another name for a bison.

noun. /ˈbʌfələʊ/ /ˈbʌfələʊ/ (plural buffalo, buffaloes) ​a large animal of the cow family that has wide, curved horns.

the verb "buffalo" meaning to outwit, confuse, deceive, intimidate, or baffle.

: a large shaggy-maned North American mammal with short horns and heavy forequarters with a large muscular hump.

The bison provided them with meat for food, hides for clothing and shelter, and horns and bones for tools. They would even use the bladder to hold water. For the Plains Indians, bison equaled survival. The Plains Indians believed they shared the Earth with their animal relatives, especially the bison.

Bison have a massive head, but buffalo have a head that is smaller and more “cowlike.” Buffalo live in generally warmer climates than bison. Bison are able to survive and thrive in harsh conditions, like the bitter cold winters of the prairie. The fur of the American bison is much thicker than the fur of a buffalo.

In general, buffalo symbolism is a reminder that you always have everything you need. It also means that your attitude towards abundance influences the rest of this planet. Moreover, this beast teaches us that abundance is present if you honor everything as sacred.

Starting in 1801, parcels were sold through the Holland Land Companies office in Batavia, New York. The settlement was initially called Lake Erie, then Buffalo Creek, soon shortened to Buffalo. Although the company named the settlement "New Amsterdam," the name did not catch on, reverting to Buffalo within ten years.

The history of the buffalo is entwined with the plight of the Native Americans in the American West. Indian tribes settled these same grasslands centuries later because of the plenteous bison. Native peoples came to rely on the bison for everything from food and clothing to shelter and religious worship.

They gave the American bison or simply bison (Bison bison) the name buffalo because they looked like Asian water buffalo or the African buffalo. The term buffalo is sometimes considered to be a misnomer for this animal, and could be confused with "true" buffalos, the Asian water buffalo and the African buffalo.

What is the Greek word for buffalo? ›

From Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos, “buffalo”).

Etymology. From Portuguese or Spanish búfalo (“buffalo”), from Late Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, from Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos, “antelope, wild ox”).

While all these words refer to bovine animals (generally all called "cows"), in American English, "cow" usually refers to the female of the species, "bull" specifically to un-castrated male, "ox" usually for castrated male, and "buffalo" refers to an entirely different species, the American Bison.

The term cows refer to the reproductive females cattle. Few of the female cattle are also called cows. Indigenous breads of cows have horns and with intestine length of 160' to 180' while fancy breeds do not have horns and with intestine length of 115' to 120'. Buffalo means both male and female and not one type only.

The word buffalo is derived from the French “bœuf,” a name given to bison when French fur trappers working in the US in the early 1600s saw the animals. The word bœuf came from what the French knew as true buffalo, animals living in Africa and Asia.