Definition of RAFFISHNESS

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Raffish sounds like it should mean "resembling raff." But what is raff? Originally, "raff" was a word meaning "rubbish"; it derived from Middle English "raf," and it was being used for trash and refuse back in the 1400s. Around a century later, English speakers were also using the word riffraff to mean "disreputable characters" or "rabble." The origins of "riffraff" are distinct from the "rubbish" sense of "raff"; "riffraff" derived from an Anglo-French phrase meaning "one and all." By the mid-1500s, the similarities between "raff" and "riffraff" had prompted people to start using the two words as synonyms, and "raff" gained a "rabble" sense. It was that ragtag "raff" that gave rise to the adjective "raffish" in the late 1700s.

Examples of raffish in a Sentence

the dowager cringed at the thought of raffish tourists in rough boots tromping all over her Persian rugs

Recent Examples on the Web

These raffish characters make no bones about having chosen one another, starting with grandma, who chose the whole bunch as an insurance policy against a lonely death. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Shoplifters’ Review: What Makes a Family?," 22 Nov. 2018 In an upside-down sideshow that doesn’t have anything to do with anything, Meryl Streep is charmingly raffish as Topsy, Mary Poppins’s eccentric cousin. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Mary Poppins Returns’ Review: Hard Medicine to Swallow," 20 Dec. 2018 The students, raffish blue bloods, wear a uniform of chic navy with scarlet piping. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, "Netflix’s Elite Is Your New Trashy Euro Teen Soap Obsession," 2 Oct. 2018 Nora Lum, the actress and rapper known as Awkwafina, steals scenes with unerring comic instinct as Rachel’s rich but raffish friend Goh Peik Lin. — Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, "‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Review: Conspicuously Consuming Fun," 16 Aug. 2018 The second is Jeremy Irons’ suave and subtle portrayal of James Tyrone — one consummate actor stepping into the raffish skin of another. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "The week ahead in SoCal theater: 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' and more," 22 June 2018 The second is Jeremy Irons’ suave and subtle portrayal of James Tyrone — one consummate actor stepping into the raffish skin of another. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "The week ahead in SoCal theater: 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' and more," 22 June 2018 The second is Jeremy Irons’ suave and subtle portrayal of James Tyrone — one consummate actor stepping into the raffish skin of another. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "The week ahead in SoCal theater: 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' and more," 22 June 2018 The second is Jeremy Irons’ suave and subtle portrayal of James Tyrone — one consummate actor stepping into the raffish skin of another. — Matt Cooper, latimes.com, "The week ahead in SoCal theater: 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' and more," 22 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'raffish.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.