ruffian
[ ruhf-ee-uhn, ruhf-yuhn ]
/ ˈrʌf i ən, ˈrʌf yən /
noun
a tough, lawless person; roughneck; bully.
adjective
Also ruf·fi·an·ly. tough; lawless; brutal.
RELATED WORDS
goon, delinquent, troublemaker, bully, gangster, punk, hooligan, rowdy, brute, mobster, thug, criminal, hood, rioter
Nearby words
- rufescent,
- ruff,
- ruffe,
- ruffed,
- ruffed grouse,
- ruffianism,
- ruffini's corpuscle,
- ruffle,
- ruffle someone's feathers,
- ruffled
Origin of ruffian
SYNONYMS FOR ruffian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for ruffian
ruffian
/ (ˈrʌfɪən) /
noun
a violent or lawless person; hoodlum or villain
Word Origin for ruffian
C16: from Old French rufien, from Italian ruffiano, perhaps related to Langobardic hruf scurf, scabbiness
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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ruffian
1530s, "a boisterous, brutal fellow, one ready to commit any crime," from Middle French rufian "a pimp" (15c.), from Italian ruffiano "a pander, pimp," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Germanic source related to rough (adj.), but Dutch roffiaan, German Ruffian are said to be from French. English meaning might have been influenced by similarity of sound to rough. Related: Ruffianly.
The Romanic words (e.g. Medieval Latin ruffianus, Provençal rufian, Catalan rufia, Spanish rufian) preserve the sense of "protector or owner of whores." For sense evolution in English, cf. bully (n.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper