puffy
Meaning
slightly swollen, often in a soft or rounded way
(of air, smoke, etc.) forming or looking like a soft, rounded mass
(of clothing or material) soft and padded, making the wearer look slightly larger
Structure
Usage
her eyes were still puffy from crying.
white, puffy clouds drifted across the summer sky.
he wore a thick, puffy jacket to stay warm in the cold.
Etymology
The word 'puffy' is formed from the simpler base word 'puff', which is believed to be an onomatopoeic formation from Middle English, imitating the sound of a short, explosive breath or a light gust of wind. The core semantic idea of 'puff' involves a sudden, brief emission that causes a slight swelling or protrusion, as in a puff of air inflating a cheek or a puff of smoke. By adding the productive adjectival suffix '-y', meaning 'having the quality of' or 'resembling', the word 'puffy' was created to describe anything characterized by such soft, rounded, or slightly swollen qualities, from facial features to clouds. This evolution from a sound-imitative verb to a descriptive adjective illustrates a common pattern in English where a concrete action gives rise to a state or appearance.
Analysis
puff (middle english, of imitative origin, meaning a short blast of air or breath; to swell). y (old english adjective suffix, denoting 'characterized by; full of').