ruff

A ruff (bird)

A 1724 mezzotint of Sir John Coke (1563–1644) wearing a ruff around his neck

Wikipedia

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ɹʌf/
• Rhymes: -ʌf
• Homophone: rough

Etymology 1

A shortening of ruffle

Noun

ruff (plural ruffs)

1. A gregarious, medium-sized wading bird of Eurasia, Philomachus pugnax; the female is a reeve.
2. Any of several freshwater fish of the genus Gymnocephalus (also Acerina), similar to perch; more commonly known as ruffe.
3. A circular frill or ruffle on a garment, especially a starched, fluted frill at the neck in Elizabethan and Jacobean England.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XII:

     “When we first forgathered, I was sitting on the floor with a chair round my neck.” “Like an Elizabethan ruff, as worn by Thomas Botway.” “Otway,” I said stiffly.

Translations

Philomachus pugnax

• Dutch: kemphaan (nl) m
• Finnish: suokukko
• German: Kampfläufer (de) m
• Greek: ψευτομαχητής (el) (pseftomachitís) m
• Latvian: gugantis (lv)

• Lithuanian: gaidukas (lt)
• Macedonian: бојник (mk) (bójnik) m
• Russian: турухтан (ru) (turuxtán) m
• Spanish: combatiente m

fish of the genus Gymnocephalus — see ruffe

collar

• Finnish: röyhelökaulus (fi)
• Greek: χοντροσκαλίδρα (el) (chondroskalídra) f

• Hungarian: nyakfodor (hu)

Verb

ruff (third-person singular simple present ruffs, present participle ruffing, simple past and past participle ruffed)

1. To ruffle; to disorder.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)

2. (military) To beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum.
3. (hawking) To hit (the prey) without fixing it.

Etymology 2

Noun

ruff (plural ruffs)

1. A card game similar to whist, and the predecessor of it.

Translations

card game

Verb

ruff (third-person singular simple present ruffs, present participle ruffing, simple past and past participle ruffed)

1. (card games)To play a trump card to a trick, other than when trumps were led

Synonyms

• trump

Translations

play a trump card — see trump

Derived terms

• overruff
• underruff

See also

• Ruff (cards) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Ruff (cards)

Etymology 3

(onomatopoeia)

Interjection

ruff

1. The bark of a dog; woof.

Etymology 4

Noun

ruff (plural ruffs)

1. Alternative form of ruffe (a fish)