*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of guff

Onomatopoeic. Compare Norwegian gufs (“puff of wind”), guffa (“to blow softly”).

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 ↗
verb

To fart. · To mislead.

noun

Nonsensical talk or thinking. · Superfluous information. · Insolent or otherwise unacceptable remarks. · A fart; act of breaking wind.

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

Onomatopoeic. Compare Norwegian gufs (“puff of wind”), guffa (“to blow softly”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Cognate mentiongufsno · puff of wind
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "onomatopoeic",
      "args": {
        "1": "en"
      },
      "expansion": "Onomatopoeic"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "gufs",
        "t": "puff of wind"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian gufs (“puff of wind”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "gufs",
      "gufs#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "guffa",
      "guffa#Norwegian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To fart.",
        "To mislead."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "6a07871e14d2b822131ecb5eb7e1487d58824c4aa866c3d1eecd2e0a1dbff290",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 469271
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Nonsensical talk or thinking.",
        "Superfluous information.",
        "Insolent or otherwise unacceptable remarks.",
        "A fart; act of breaking wind."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "uncountable",
        "countable",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "c888c194ba50e177536140f9687510edb57876f1c8f9cbae9bba4f465213690f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "7add1da1f745f2a890819b0688f0a5a2e4e6aba4732fb5a1d1ce78be8a607c83",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 469270
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 guff →

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-Z3VmZg