ruffian English · revision 1299

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹʌfi.ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|rufian|t=pimp]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[der|it|ruffiano|t=pander, pimp]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Random House suggests Langobardic ''*hruf'' “scurf”,^(RHWU) and Etymonline a Germanic word related to [[rough]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A man of low and brutal character, given to violence or crime (1531).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Romance words kept the sense of a pimp or protector of prostitutes,^(Etymonline) a sense occasionally found in English in the 17th century.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Barnhart and Etymonline suggest that the English sense of a rough, brutal person was influenced by the sound of [[rough]], since the earliest English uses refer to violence and theft rather than pimping.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1531 – a brutal, violent man.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1533 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1560 – a swaggering bully, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1618 – a pimp, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A violent, lawless person; a [[thug]] or [[bully]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Tough, lawless and brutal.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ruffianism]]

+ * [[ruffianly]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House gives ''brute'', ''tough'', ''knave'', ''rogue'' and ''blackguard'' as synonyms.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}