puffball

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun any of various fungi of the family Lycoperdaceae whose round fruiting body discharges a cloud of spores when mature
noun any of various fungi of the genus Scleroderma having hard-skinned subterranean fruiting bodies resembling truffles

From puff + ball.

As he set foot on O’Connell bridge a puffball of smoke plumed up from the parapet. — Ulysses, James Joyce
They all saw it--a white puffball of smoke that tumbled over the tower-rim and came drifting and rolling down the slope toward them. — The People of the Black Circle, Robert E. (Robert Ervin) Howard
A wood fire burned cheerily on the white marble hearth, and the winter sunlight fell brightly on the flower-stand full of flowers--amidst which the piping bullfinch, Puffball, hopped about. — Fifty-Two Stories For Girls, Unknown

true puffball

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning