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English word origin

Etymology of biff

Onomatopoeic.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
intj

The sound of a person being punched or hit.

noun

A sudden, sharp blow or punch. · A wipeout.

verb

To punch or hit. · To discard; to throw out; to throw away. · To wipe out; to faceplant; to fall. · To mess up.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Onomatopoeic.

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "The sound of a person being punched or hit."
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A sudden, sharp blow or punch.",
        "A wipeout."
      ],
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        "informal"
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        "To punch or hit.",
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        "To wipe out; to faceplant; to fall.",
        "To mess up."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "transitive",
        "Atlantic-Canada",
        "New-Zealand",
        "slang"
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for biff →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YmlmZg