ruffiano

English

Noun

ruffiano (plural ruffianos)

1. (obsolete) A ruffian.
   • 1836, Foster's Cabinet Miscellany, page 227:

     […] the noisy boys in the streets, who constitute the ruffianos.

Italian

Etymology

From roffia (“dirt”), from Old High German hruf (“eschar, crust”). Cognate with Icelandic hrufla (“to scratch”), English ruffle. Alternatively from Vulgar Latin *rufianus, from rūfus (“red”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rufˈfja.no/
• Rhymes: -ano
• Hyphenation: ruf‧fià‧no

Noun

ruffiano m (plural ruffiani, feminine ruffiana)

1. pander, procurer, pimp

   Synonyms: magnaccia, protettore, lenone, pappone

2. bootlicker
3. sycophant
4. flunky
5. hanger-on

Derived terms

• arrufianarsi
• ruffiana
• ruffianata
• ruffianesco
• ruffianeggiare
• ruffineria

Descendants

• → Catalan: rufià
• → Middle French: rufian
  • → English: ruffian
  • → Middle Dutch: ruffiaen, roffiaen
    • Dutch: roffiaan, roffiaen
• → Spanish: rufián