ruffiano

English

Noun

ruffiano (plural ruffianos)

  1. (obsolete) A ruffian.
    • 1836, Foster's Cabinet Miscellany, page 227:
      […] the noisy boys in the streets, who constitute the ruffianos.

Italian

Etymology

From roffia (“dirt”), from Old High German hruf (“eschar, crust”). Cognate with Icelandic hrufla (“to scratch”), English ruffle. Alternatively from Vulgar Latin *rufianus, from rūfus (“red”).[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /rufˈfja.no/
  • Rhymes: -ano
  • Hyphenation: ruf‧fià‧no

Noun

ruffiano m (plural ruffiani, feminine ruffiana)

  1. pander, procurer, pimp
    Synonyms: magnaccia, protettore, lenone, pappone
  2. bootlicker
  3. sycophant
  4. flunky
  5. hanger-on

Derived terms

Descendants
  • → Catalan: rufià
  • → Middle French: rufian
    • → English: ruffian
    • → Middle Dutch: ruffiaen, roffiaen
  • → Spanish: rufián

References
  1. ruffiano in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
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