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 Kevin, an Englishman living in Marseille, agreed to meet with the young Helder, who hoped to learn a few secrets of the trade from a master with a raffish reputation. — Los Angeles Times, "Review: Helder Guimarães peers into ‘The Future’ for more Zoom magic. The view is fuzzy," 13 Dec. 2020 To set the raffish Bentley apart from its stuffy stablemate Rolls-Royce, the Turbo R's cockpit boasts features like a tachometer and a gear selector that has been moved from the steering column to a much sportier position in the center console. — Barry Winfield, Car and Driver, "Tested: 1994 Bentley Turbo R Brings the Old World into the New," 7 July 2020 Young Lendrum’s prowess earned him a raffish preeminence among his peers. — Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post, "For years, Jeffrey Lendrum was at once an avid outdoorsman and merciless thief. Then he got caught.," 25 Feb. 2020 Max Hardberger, a raffish oceanic repo man, stars in Urbina’s heist story. — Alyssa Rosenberg, Washington Post, "How lawlessness and ignorance are harming our oceans," 12 Sep. 2019 Brighton, a resort on the south coast, is well known as a raffish, radical place. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, "Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Flush," 10 Jan. 2020 The best emerging writers metaphorically reject their domineering parents and gravitate to their raffish uncles and outcast aunts. — Michael Dirda, Washington Post, "A celebration of the outsiders and outcasts who have made music great," 16 Oct. 2019 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

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.