Obs. Also -oon. [a. F. bouffante ‘espèce de guimpe gaufrée que portaient autrefois les femmes’ (Littré). See BOUFFANT(E a.] ‘A projecting covering of gauze or linen for a lady’s breast … much worn about 1750’ (Fairholt).

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1774.  Westm. Mag., II. 259. Ladies in full dress still wear … buffoons for the neck. Ibid., 288. Plaited tuckers and buffons for the neck.

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1783.  European Mag., III. 15. Buffonts, trimmed and plain, are in universal use still.

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