ruffian
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L326980 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɹʌfi.ən/
adj
Etymology: From Middle French rufian, from Italian ruffiano (“pimp”).
- Brutal, cruel, ruffianlike.
“ruffian rage”
noun
Etymology: From Middle French rufian, from Italian ruffiano (“pimp”).
- A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person.
“What wilt thou on thy death-bed play the Ruffian?”
“It was at Count Siloszech's. He'd heard her sing in the streets, with a tall, black-bearded ruffian, who accompanied her on a guitar, and a little fiddling gypsy fellow. She was a handsome woman, with hair down to her knees, but stupid as an owl.”
- A pimp; a pander.
- A lover; a paramour.
“He [her husband] is no sooner abroad than she is instantly at home, revelling with her ruffians.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle French rufian, from Italian ruffiano (“pimp”).
- To play the ruffian; to rage; to raise tumult.
“Methinks the wind does speak aloud at land; A fuller blast ne'er shook our battlements. If it hath ruffianed so upon the sea.”