puffin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of two genera of northern seabirds having short necks and brightly colored compressed bills

WordNet

Puf"fin noun
Etymology
Akin to puff.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) An arctic sea bird Fratercula arctica) allied to the auks, and having a short, thick, swollen beak, whence the name; -- called also bottle nose, cockandy, coulterneb, marrot, mormon, pope, and sea parrot. ✍ The name is also applied to other related species, as the horned puffin (F. corniculata), the tufted puffin (Lunda cirrhata), and the razorbill.
  2. (Bot.) The puffball.
  3. A sort of apple. Obs. Rider's Dict. (1640).

Webster 1913