buff

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.
• noun A military uniform coat made of such leather.
• noun A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.
• noun A piece of soft material, such as velvet or leather, often mounted on a block and used for polishing.
• adjective Made or formed of buff.
• adjective Of the color buff.
• adjective Slang Having good muscle tone; physically fit and trim.
• transitive verb To polish or shine with a piece of soft material.
• transitive verb To soften the surface of (leather) by raising a nap.
• transitive verb To make the color of buff.
• idiom (in the buff) Naked.
• noun One who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To polish with a buff-wheel or buff-stick.
• To stammer.
• To emit a dull sound.
• noun Ä blow; a slap; a box; a stroke; a buffet.
• To strike; buffet.
• To resist; deaden, as a buffer.
• noun In old armor, the chin-piece of the burgonet, corresponding to the aventaile, and pierced with holes to allow breathing.
• noun A bough.
• In leather manufacturing, to grind or shave with a buff-wheel.
• noun A dull fellow; a drone.
• noun Nonsense; trivial or idle talk: as, that is all buff.
• noun A buffalo.
• noun A kind of thick leather, originally and properly made of the skin of the buffalo, but now also of the skins of other animals, as elks, oxen, etc.
• noun A buff-coat (which see).
• noun The color of buff-leather; a yellow color deficient in luminosity and in chroma.
• noun plural The third regiment of the line in the British army: so called from the color of the facings of their uniform.
• noun In medicine, the buffy coat. See buffy.
• noun A buff-stick; a buff-wheel.
• noun The bare skin: as, to strip to the buff.
• Made of buff-leather.
• Of the color of buff-leather; brownish-yellow.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• adjective Made of buff leather.
• adjective Of the color of buff.
• adjective a close, military outer garment, with short sleeves, and laced tightly over the chest, made of buffalo skin, or other thick and elastic material, worn by soldiers in the 17th century as a defensive covering.
• adjective [Obs.] originally, a leather waistcoat; afterward, one of cloth of a buff color.
• adjective (Mech.) a strip of wood covered with buff leather, used in polishing.
• noun A sort of leather, prepared from the skin of the buffalo, dressed with oil, like chamois; also, the skins of oxen, elks, and other animals, dressed in like manner.
• noun The color of buff; a light yellow, shading toward pink, gray, or brown.
• noun A military coat, made of buff leather.
• noun (Med.) The grayish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat. See Buffy coat, under Buffy, a.
• noun (Mech.) A wheel covered with buff leather, and used in polishing cutlery, spoons, etc.
• noun colloq. The bare skin.
• transitive verb to polish with a soft cloth, especially one similar to a buff{5}. See buff, n., 5.
• transitive verb obsolete To strike.
• noun A buffet; a blow; -- obsolete except in the phrase “Blindman's buff.” See blindman's buff.
• adjective Firm; sturdy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.
• noun A tool, often one covered with buff leather, used for polishing.