buffalo

(búfalo (búfalo] < Late Latin bufalus < Latin bübulus 'cattle; beef')

   West: 1848. The North American bison (Bison americanus). According to Watts, Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca was the first to apply erroneously the Spanish term búfalo to the American bison because it was similar in appearance to the Indian or African wild ox or buffalo. The buffalo played an important role in the exploration and settlement of the Old West. According to Josiah Gregg (Commerce of the Prairies), it was a primary source of meat for early expeditions. It was also widely hunted by Indians for its meat and hide. As a result of the animal's importance in the Southwest, the term, originally applied by the Spaniards, became highly integrated into English. This is evidenced by its use as a verb (first referenced in English in central Texas in 1896), meaning to frighten or confuse (or, by extension, to strike on the head with the barrel of a gun), as well as by its use in more than thirty compounds that refer to Southwestern plant life (buffalo berry, buffalo clover, buffalo pea) and animal life (buffalo fish, buffalo wolf). Some compounds containing buffalo also pertain to the history of the Southwest: "buffalo cider" or "buffalo gall" was a liquid found in the buffalo's stomach that could save a thirsty explorer, "buffalo fever" was the excitement felt at the onset of a "buffalo hunt," and "buffalo wood," "buffalo fuel" or "buffalo chips" referred to dried buffalo manure, used to start fires. Santamaría and the DRAE both point out the erroneous use of búfalo in North America to refer to the American bison.

   Alternate forms: buff, buffler, bufler.