Japanese

04:35 

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J01

Words and Their Stories -- a program in Special English. Every word has its own story. Where did it come from? What does it mean? How did it get into the language? Our word today is "buff."

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J02

The word, "buff," has several meanings. In relation to color, buff is a pale yellow. Buff is also a soft cloth used to polish a surface -- to buff it. But these meanings are old, and their history forgotten. The meaning of buff that interests us now is the one describing a person who has a strong special kind of desire -- a person with a strong interest in something. For example, if a person loves tennis, he is called a tennis buff. If he loves jazz, he is a jazz buff, and so on.

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J03

This meaning of the word is purely American. And its use started 150 years ago in New York City. At that time, New York was a growing city. There were no skyscrapers of stone and steel, but buildings of wood and brick. Many were old, and fires in them often broke out. And there were no well-organized fire departments. When a fire alarm rang out, those near the blaze dropped what they were doing and rushed out to fight the fire.

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J04

Then, volunteer fire companies were organized. In cold weather, many of these young firefighters wore coats made of buffalo skin to keep them dry and warm. And often when a fire bell rang, other city men also rushed to help put out the fire. They also wore buffalo coats. In time, any man who dropped what he was doing and rushed to fight a fire became known as a fire buff because of the buffalo coat he wore. Fire buffs soon became a welcome sight and were generally praised by the people.

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J05

Time, however, has a way of bringing changes. City Fire Departments were organized; new equipment invented. Firemen became professionals paid to do the job. Yet even today, we still have fire buffs who seem to come from nowhere and magically appear at the scene of a fire. Sometimes they prevent firemen from doing their jobs. Not long ago, the following headline appeared in a leading New York newspaper: "Fire Buffs Barred from Blaze." The story under the headline was about an order from New York's Fire Commissioner. "From now on " the Commissioner said, "only firemen can go to a fire " The Commissioner was angry. He told newsmen that his firefighters were having great trouble getting near the blaze because fire buffs meaning to be helpful were really getting in the way.

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J06

And so, we can thank the American buffalo of the western plains for the word, "buff," which at first was used to describe a person who loved to go to fires. Today, the word, "buff," has taken on a broad meaning to include all who have a deep passion or love for something, some event, or some group.

Voice of America

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