ruffian

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“
Why not wait till next day, seeing that the ruffian was as safe within the demesne as between the walls of a prison?

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A tough or rowdy person.
  2. noun A thug or gangster.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

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Examples (50)

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This word has been looked up 111 times.

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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

scoundrel ·  villain ·  robber ·  thief ·  brute ·  liar ·  assassin ·  wretch ·  tyrant ·  bandit ·  outlaw ·  barbarian

Used in the same contextWord Family

ruffian:   ruffians
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. French, pimp, from Old French rufien, from Old Provençal rufian, from Old Italian ruffiano.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English also rufyan, ruffen, ruffin; = Middle Dutch ruffiaen, roffiaen, from . Old French ruffian, ruffien, rufien, French rufien = Walloon rouffian = Provencal rufian, rofian = Spanish rufian = Portuguese rufião = Italian ruffiano, Old Italian roffiano (Middle Latin ruffianus), a pander, bully, ruffian; with Roman suffix, from Old Dutch roffen, roffelen = Low German ruffeln, a pander; cf. Low German ruffeler, a pander, intrigant, = Danish ruffer, a pander (see ruffler): see ruffle. Cf. ruff, rough.
  2. = Italian ruffianare. Old Italian roffianare = Portuguese rufiar = Spanish rufianar, act as a pander or ruffian; from the noun.
 

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/ˈrəfɪən/
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