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Buff () is a light brownish yellow, ochreous colour, typical of buff leather. Buff is a mixture of yellow ochre and white: two parts of white lead and one part of yellow ochre produces a good buff, or white lead may be tinted with French ochre alone.

As an RYB quaternary colour, it is the colour produced by an equal mix of the tertiary colours citron and russet. The hex RGB color value of the Buff swatch as an RYB quaternary colour is E0AB76.

Etymology

thumb|Buff after A. Maerz

thumb|Standard buff after A. S. Jennings.

thumb|Buff after R. Ridgway.

The first recorded use of the word buff to describe a colour was in The London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "...a Red Coat with a Buff-colour'd lining". It referred to the colour of undyed buffalo leather, such as soldiers wore as some protection: an eyewitness to the death in the Battle of Edgehill (1642) of Sir Edmund Verney noted "he would neither put on arms [armour] or buff coat the day of the battle". Such buff leather was suitable for buffing or serving as a buffer between polished objects. It is not clear which bovine "buffalo" referred to, but it may not have been any of the animals called "buffalo" today.

Derived terms

The word buff meaning "enthusiast" or "expert" (US English) derives from the colour "buff", specifically from the buff-coloured uniform facings of 19th-century New York City volunteer firemen, who inspired partisan followers among particularly keen fire watchers.

"In the buff", today meaning naked, originally applied to English soldiers wearing the buff leather tunic that was their uniform until the 17th century. The "naked" signification is due to the perception that (English) skin is buff-coloured.

In nature

Geology

Sand, rock, and loess tend to be buff in many areas.

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File:Sand Drawings.JPG|Buff sand

File:Short Cliff - geograph.org.uk - 881661.jpg|Buff rock at the top of a cliff

File:LoessVicksburg.jpg|Buff loess

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Natural selection

Because buff is effective in camouflage, it is often naturally selected.

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File:AB Keeled Scales.jpg|Buff bands on a snake

File:Phalera bucephala MHNT.jpg|A moth with buff wingtips (Phalera bucephala)

File:Phalera bucephala, Mondvogel 6.JPG|The buff wingtips of this moth aid in camouflage.

File:Panellus_stipticus_8445.jpg|Buff fungi

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Many species are named for their buff markings, including the buff arches moth, the buff-bellied climbing mouse, and at least sixty birds, including the buff-fronted quail-dove, the buff-vented bulbul, and the buff-spotted flufftail.

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File:Nomascus-gabriellae.jpg|A pair of northern buffed-cheeked gibbons

File:Buff-banded Rail LEI Jan08.jpg|The buff-banded rail

File:Theristicus caudatus (Coclí) (5145728595).jpg|The buff-necked ibis

File:Tangara cayana1.jpg|The burnished-buff tanager

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In culture

Architecture

In areas where buff raw materials are available, buff walls and buildings may be found. Cotswold stone is an example of such a material, as is Cream City brick.

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File:The Street - geograph.org.uk - 350549.jpg|Traditional buff stone buildings

File:Poplar, Follett Street, E14 (1) - geograph.org.uk - 934243.jpg|Modern buff brick buildings (centre)

File:Milwaukee_July_2023_105_(Turner_Hall).jpg|Cream City brick

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Stationery and art

Unless bleached or dyed, paper products, such as Manila paper, tend to be buff. Buff envelopes are used extensively in commercial mailings.

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File:Manila papier.jpg|Manila paper

File:SayilmisSecimZarflari.JPG|Buff envelopes

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Buff paper is sometimes favoured by artists seeking a neutral background colour for drawings, especially those featuring the colour white.

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File:Portrait of a gentleman by Sir Peter Lely.jpg|Red and white chalk portrait on buff paper

File:Waterfall at Tivoli by George Hayter.jpg|Black chalk with brown wash, heightened with white on buff paper

File:Tour de St Romain Rouen cathedral by William Froome Smallwood.jpg|Graphite drawing with watercolour wash on buff paper

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Artificial selection

Buff domesticated animals and plants have been created, including dogs, cats, and poultry. The word buff is used in written standards of several breeds, and some, such as the Buff turkey, are specifically named "buff".

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File:American Cocker Spaniel buff portrait.jpg|A buff gun dog

File:Shaded Tan Maine Coon cat.jpg|A buff mousing cat

File:Mareca penelope female s2.jpg|A female eurasian wigeon

File:Buff_Orpington_chicken,_UK.jpg|A buff chicken

File:Orpington Duck 2014-10-20 001.jpg|The Buff Orpington Duck

File:Rosa 'Buff Beauty'.jpg|The rose cultivar 'Buff Beauty'.

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Clothing

In 16th- and 17th-century European cultures, buff waistcoats ("vests" in American English), were considered proper casual wear. In the 17th century, the traditional colour of formal dress boot uppers was often described as "buff".

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File:Musician Holding Bagpipes 1632.jpg|17th-century English musician wearing a buff waistcoat

File:Piccolomini_5.jpg|17th-century Italian nobleman wearing buff dress boot uppers

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John Bull

Clothing depicted on John Bull, a national personification of Britain in general and England in particular, in political cartoons and similar graphic works, has often been buff coloured. Bull's buff waistcoats, topcoats, trousers and boot uppers were typical of 18th- and 19th-century Englishmen.

US Army

The uniform of the American Continental Army was buff and blue.

File:Flag of New York (1778-1901).svg| Former flag of New York (1896–1901)

File:Flag of Maine (1901–1909).svg| Former flag of Maine (1901–1909)

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Other flags

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File:Flag of the Royal Saudi Land Forces.svg| Flag of the Royal Saudi Land Forces

File:Flag of North Kurdufan.svg| Flag of the former Sudanese province of Kordofan

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Political usage

thumb|Depiction of the Whig [[Charles James Fox wearing buff and blue]]

The colours of the Whig Party, a British political faction, and later political party, as well as the American Whig Party, were buff and blue.

As a relatively inexpensive and readily available paint colour, and one which went well alongside the near-universal black hull and white superstructure used on steamships at the time, White Star was far from the only shipping line to use a shade of buff as a funnel colour. The Orient Line and Norddeutscher Lloyd used an entirely buff funnel without the black top, while Canadian Pacific and the Swedish American Line employed a buff funnel with a representation of the company's house flag on them. The Bibby Line and the Fyffes Line are two of several firms to use the same "buff with a black top" scheme as White Star, but with a similar lack of certainty as to the exact shade used and how this differed from the famous White Star scheme.

In Canadian heraldry

As well as being a colour used by the United States Army Institute of Heraldry, buff is also recognised as a tincture by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. It appears on the heraldic badge and flag of the Correctional Service of Canada.

See also

  • List of colours
  • Beige, a similar colour
  • Fallow
  • Tan, a slightly darker, redder colour
  • Tawny

References

hi:भूरा#बादामी