Online Encyclopedia

RUFFIAN (Fr. ruffian, It. ruffiano)

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 819 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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RUFFIAN (Fr. ruffian, It. ruffiano)  , a brutal, violent person, a swaggering, low bully . The etymology is obscure, but the word has been connected with " ruffier," a bully, swaggerer, one who "ruffles" (M . Du. roffeln, to pander) . An early derivation, quoted in Du Cange, derives it from
See also:
Lat. rufus, red, as the hair of the mereirices, with whom the ruffian were generally associated, was red or gold, as contrasted with the black hair of sober matrons .

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