Puffin

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Puffin \Puf"fin\ (p[u^]f"f[i^]n), n. [Akin to puff.]
     1. (Zool.) 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}.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The name is also applied to other related species, as
           the horned puffin ({Fratercula corniculata}), the
           tufted puffin ({Lunda cirrhata}), and the razorbill.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Manx puffin}, the Manx shearwater. See under {Manx}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Bot.) The puffball.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. A sort of apple. [Obs.] --Rider's Dict. (1640).
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Puffball \Puff"ball`\, n. (Bot.)
     A kind of ball-shaped fungus ({Lycoperdon giganteum}, and
     other species of the same genus) full of dustlike spores when
     ripe; -- called also {bullfist}, {bullfice}, {puckfist},
     {puff}, and {puffin}.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  puffin
       n : any of two genera of northern seabirds having short necks
           and brightly colored compressed bills