The Collaborative International Dictionary
Buffalo \Buf"fa*lo\, n.; pl. Buffaloes. [Sp. bufalo (cf. It. bufalo, F. buffle), fr. L. bubalus, bufalus, a kind of African stag or gazelle; also, the buffalo or wild ox, fr. Gr. ? buffalo, prob. fr. ? ox. See Cow the animal, and cf. Buff the color, and Bubale.]
(Zo["o]l.) A species of the genus Bos or Bubalus ( Bubalus bubalus), originally from India, but now found in most of the warmer countries of the eastern continent. It is larger and less docile than the common ox, and is fond of marshy places and rivers.
(Zo["o]l.) A very large and savage species of the same genus ( Syncerus Caffer syn. Bubalus Caffer) found in South Africa; -- called also Cape buffalo.
(Zo["o]l.) Any species of wild ox.
(Zo["o]l.) The bison of North America.
A buffalo robe. See Buffalo robe, below.
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(Zo["o]l.) The buffalo fish. See Buffalofish, below.
Buffalo berry (Bot.), a shrub of the Upper Missouri ( Sherherdia argentea) with acid edible red berries.
Buffalo bird (Zo["o]l.), an African bird of the genus Buphaga, of two species. These birds perch upon buffaloes and cattle, in search of parasites.
Buffalo bug, the carpet beetle. See under Carpet.
Buffalo chips, dry dung of the buffalo, or bison, used for fuel. [U.S.]
Buffalo clover (Bot.), a kind of clover ( Trifolium reflexum and Trifoliumsoloniferum) found in the ancient grazing grounds of the American bison.
Buffalo cod (Zo["o]l.), a large, edible, marine fish ( Ophiodon elongatus) of the northern Pacific coast; -- called also blue cod, and cultus cod.
Buffalo fly, or Buffalo gnat (Zo["o]l.), a small dipterous insect of the genus Simulium, allied to the black fly of the North. It is often extremely abundant in the lower part of the Mississippi valley and does great injury to domestic animals, often killing large numbers of cattle and horses. In Europe the Columbatz fly is a species with similar habits.
Buffalo grass (Bot.), a species of short, sweet grass ( Buchlo["e] dactyloides), from two to four inches high, covering the prairies on which the buffaloes, or bisons, feed. [U.S.]
Buffalo nut (Bot.), the oily and drupelike fruit of an American shrub ( Pyrularia oleifera); also, the shrub itself; oilnut.
Buffalo robe, the skin of the bison of North America, prepared with the hair on; -- much used as a lap robe in sleighs.
Chip \Chip\, n.
A piece of wood, stone, or other substance, separated by an ax, chisel, or cutting instrument.
A fragment or piece broken off; a small piece.
Wood or Cuban palm leaf split into slips, or straw plaited in a special manner, for making hats or bonnets.
Anything dried up, withered, or without flavor; -- used contemptuously.
One of the counters used in poker and other games.
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(Naut.) The triangular piece of wood attached to the log line.
Buffalo chips. See under Buffalo.
Chip ax, a small ax for chipping timber into shape.
Chip bonnet, Chip hat, a bonnet or a hat made of Chip. See Chip, n., 3.
A chip off the old block, a child who resembles either of his parents. [Colloq.]
--Milton.Potato chips, Saratoga chips, thin slices of raw potato fried crisp.
Wiktionary
n. (context US English) Dried dung of the buffalo or bison, used for fuel.
Usage examples of "buffalo chips".
The Comanches did not burn human turds for fuel, not in a wooded canyon where there were many buffalo chips to be gathered.
Cleve, profiting by talk overheard before this trip began, had hung a canvas ground sheet under the wagon and into this he had heaped buffalo chips, chunks of wood, and odds and ends of fuel.
Over the long flatlands, up the low hills, down steep declivities, gathering buffalo chips as they went against the fires of the night, and ever alert for the Indians that never came.
There was no fuel and they cooked with buffalo chips and wood brought from earlier camps.
A coffeepot steamed and two pans sizzled on a grill above a fire of buffalo chips—.
A coffeepot steamed and two pans sizzled on a grill above a fire of buffalo chips-an abundance of which remained-and mesquite.
We picked up fuel where we could find it during the day, and at night gathered buffalo chips.
We made dry camp in the hollow atop a ridge, a sheltered hollow that allowed us to have a fire after the darkness came, by using buffalo chips for fuel.