ruffianly

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English

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Etymology

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From ruffian +‎ -ly.

Adjective

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ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)

  1. Like or having the qualities of a ruffian. [from 16th c.]
    • 1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, section I:
      Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depth of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me vis-à-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheepdogs […].
    • 1922, “The Seven against Thebes”, in Geoffrey Montagu Cookson, transl., Four Plays of Aeschylus, page 136:
      One righteous man who reverences the Gods
      Shall shipmate be with a ruffianly crew[…].

Translations

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Adverb

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ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)

  1. In the manner of a ruffian.

Translations

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