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Nathan vs Duff - What's the difference?

nathan | duff |

As proper nouns the difference between nathan and duff

is that nathan is an old testament prophet while duff is .

nathan

English

Proper noun

(en proper noun)
  • An Old Testament prophet.
  • *
  • And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man: and he said to Nathan': As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And ' Nathan said to David: Thou art the man.
  • of Biblical origin.
  • * 1972 Nate Perlmutter, A Bias of Reflections: Confessions of an Incipient Old Jew , Arlington House, ISBN 0870001647, page 27:
  • I used to envy my brother his name, and recall once accusing my mother of having favored him, else why did she name me Nathan' and him Philip, tell me that, ma, tell me that. He had king Philip and if day-dreaming that association wasn't pleasure enough, there was the then movie star, Phillips Holmes. All I had was '''Nathan''' Hale. Admittedly, '''Nathan''' Hale would have been fine — except among our schoolyard ditties was the couplet: '''''Nathan''' Hale, / '''Nathan''' Hale, / He shit in a pail, / Shit in a pail.'' Being a ' Nathan was sometimes trying.
  • * 2007 Rose Lamatt, Lifeline Online , ISBN 143270589X, page 128:
  • He was so proud he'd had a son. He talked me into naming him Nathan saying he had always loved that name. I was surprised to see when I looked it up in a name book it meant gift from God. And yes that was a very appropriate name.

    Usage notes

    * Popular given name in all English-speaking countries around 2000.

    duff

    English

    Etymology 1

    Representing a northern pronunciation of (dough).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dialectal) Dough.
  • A stiff flour pudding, often with dried fruit, boiled in a cloth bag, or steamed
  • * 1901 , , short story The Ghosts of Many Christmases'', published in ''Children of the Bush [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7065]:
  • The storekeeper had sent them an unbroken case of canned plum pudding, and probably by this time he was wondering what had become of that blanky case of duff .

    Etymology 2

    Origin uncertain; probably imitative.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (Scotland, US) Decaying vegetable matter on the forest floor.
  • * 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 366:
  • Out under the trees, some rangers had found enough duff and dry wood to start a fire beneath a slanting ridge of slate.
  • Coal dust.
  • (slang) The bits left in the bottom of the bag after the booty has been consumed, like crumbs.
  • Something spurious or fake; a counterfeit, a worthless thing.
  • An error.
  • Adjective

    (er)
  • (UK) Worthless; not working properly, defective.
  • Why do I always get a shopping trolley with duff wheels?
  • * 1996 , , State of Desire , page 155,
  • From its surface, he insisted, plain food became ambrosia, water nectar, and the duffest dope would blow your mind.
  • * 2003 , , page 315,
  • One will win the coveted Hollywood Science Award, which, in Robert?s words “is given in recognition of the duffest science in movie-dom” so it will be worth tuning in to find out what movie stunt wins.
  • * 2009 , , Paperboy , page 225,
  • All the other parts were played by a gallery of Dickensian character actors, including Thorley Walters, Francis Matthews and, yes, Michael Ripper, who lent gravitas to the duffest dialogue lines.
    Synonyms
    * (defective) bum (US)

    Etymology 3

    Origin uncertain; perhaps the same as Etymology 1, above.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (US, slang) The buttocks.
  • Etymology 4

    Originally thieves' slang; probably a back-formation from (duffer).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (slang, obsolete) To disguise something to make it look new.
  • (Australia) To alter the branding of stolen cattle; to steal cattle.
  • To beat up.
  • I heard Nick got duffed up behind the shopping centre at the weekend.
  • (US, golf) To hit the ground behind the ball.
  • See also

    * up the duff