Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Rebuff

Rebuff (re*buf") , noun

[Italian ribuffo, akin to ribuffare to repulse; pref. ri- (Latin re-) + buffo puff. Compare Buff to strike, Buffet a blow.]

1.
Repercussion, or beating back; a quick and sudden resistance.
The strong rebuff of some tumultuous cloud. — Milton
2.
Sudden check; unexpected repulse; defeat; refusal; repellence; rejection of solicitation.

Rebuff (re*buft") , transitive verb

To beat back; to offer sudden resistance to; to check; to repel or repulse violently, harshly, or uncourteously.