*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of tuff

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.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

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

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

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {},
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:tuf",
        "id": "rock",
        "tree": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *tewh₂-der.\nProto-Italic *tūβosder.\nOscanbor.?\nLatin tōfusder.\nItalian tufobor.\nFrench tufbor.\nEnglish tuff\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"lang_name\" : \"Oscan\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*tewh₂-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*tūβos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"osc\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"tōfus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Italian\", \"term\" : \"tufo\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"it\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"tuf\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"tuff\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"rock\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"tuff\" id=\"English:_rock\">"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "tuffe,tuf"
      },
      "expansion": "French tuffe, tuf"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "tufo"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian tufo"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "tōfus"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin tōfus"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tufa"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of tufa"
    },
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      },
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    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*tewh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tewh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "*tūβos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/tūβos"
    ],
    [
      "tōfus",
      "tofus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "tufo",
      "tufo#Italian"
    ],
    [
      "tuf",
      "tuf#French"
    ],
    [
      "tuffe",
      "tuffe#French"
    ],
    [
      "tuf",
      "tuf#French"
    ],
    [
      "tufo",
      "tufo#Italian"
    ],
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      "tōfus",
      "tofus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "tufa",
      "tufa#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A light porous rock, now especially a rock composed of compacted volcanic ash varying in size from fine sand to coarse gravel."
      ],
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        "countable",
        "uncountable"
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Eye dialect spelling of tough. · Impressive, amazing, awesome, cool.

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

Eye dialect of tough.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tough",
        "id": "alt"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "eye dialect",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tough"
      },
      "expansion": "Eye dialect of tough"
    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "tough",
        "id": "alt"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
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      "eye dialect"
    ],
    [
      "tough",
      "tough#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Eye dialect spelling of tough.",
        "Impressive, amazing, awesome, cool."
      ],
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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 tuff →

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-dHVmZg