Buff

Buff is a pale yellow-brown colour that got its name from the colour of buff leather. Displayed on the right is the colour buff. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, buff as a descriptor of a colour was first used in the London Gazette of 1686, describing a uniform to be "A Red Coat with a Buff-colour'd lining". Buff is widespread in the animal kingdom. The word buff appears in the name of many species with this colour, such as the Buff-breasted Sandpiper, the Buff Orpington chicken, Buff turkey and the Buff-bellied Pipit. Formal or informal waistcoats are often buff-coloured for day wear, and the traditional colour for formal dress boot uppers is often described as buff. John Bull, the character representing England who was...