Etymograph

English

puft

Puft comes from Middle English poften ‘to puff, pant’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *puffattjan.

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*puffattjan1‘to puff repeatedly, pant’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150*puffettan1‘to puff, pant’reconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poften1‘to puff, pant’
  4. Englishtodaypuft1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English puft

Lineage

  1. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*puffattjanWiktionary, English puft‘to puff repeatedly, pant’reconstructed
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150*puffettanWiktionary, English puft‘to puff, pant’reconstructed
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500poftenWiktionary, English puft‘to puff, pant’
  4. EnglishtodaypuftWiktionary, English puft

Formed from puff + -t

Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- ‘to blow, puff’

Old English pyf ‘a blast of wind, puff’

Middle English puff

English puff

Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *puffattjan

Today it means

verb To puff.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “puft”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *puffattjan / puft

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