What does ruff mean?
Definitions for ruff
rʌfruff
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ruff.
Princeton's WordNet
frill, ruffnoun
an external body part consisting of feathers or hair about the neck of a bird or other animal
choker, ruff, ruffle, neck ruffnoun
a high tight collar
ruff, Philomachus pugnaxnoun
common Eurasian sandpiper; the male has an erectile neck ruff in breeding season
ruff, trumpingverb
(card games) the act of taking a trick with a trump when unable to follow suit
trump, ruffverb
play a trump
GCIDE
Ruffverb
(Card Playing) To play a trump card at bridge; as, he ruffed his partner's ace.
Wiktionary
ruffnoun
A card game similar to whist, and the predecessor of it ruff and honours.
ruffverb
To play a trump card to a trick, other than when trumps were led
ruffinterjection
The bark of a dog; woof.
Etymology: A shortening of ruffle
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
ChatGPT
ruff
A ruff refers to one or more of the following: 1) A ruff is a high, frilled collar worn in the 16th and early 17th centuries, or similar decorative clothing accessory also common in traditional Eastern European dance outfits. 2) In the animal kingdom, "Ruff" is a type of wading bird of the sandpiper family, known for the large, ornamental collar of feathers worn by the male. 3) A Ruff is also a term referring to a technique in drumming, consisting of a rapid series of beats maintaining rhythm. 4) In the gambler’s parlance, Ruff is used in card games like bridge or whist to mean trumping a card that is not of the trump suit. 5) The term can also refer to the act of disturbing or disarranging something, especially a smooth surface. For example, 'the dog's nose ruffed the carpet'. The context of the sentence usually determines which interpretation of 'ruff' is being referred to.
Webster Dictionary
Ruffnoun
a game similar to whist, and the predecessor of it
Ruffnoun
the act of trumping, especially when one has no card of the suit led
Ruff
to trump
Ruffnoun
a muslin or linen collar plaited, crimped, or fluted, worn formerly by both sexes, now only by women and children
Ruffnoun
something formed with plaits or flutings, like the collar of this name
Ruffnoun
an exhibition of pride or haughtiness
Ruffnoun
wanton or tumultuous procedure or conduct
Ruffnoun
a low, vibrating beat of a drum, not so loud as a roll; a ruffle
Ruffnoun
a collar on a shaft ot other piece to prevent endwise motion. See Illust. of Collar
Ruffnoun
a set of lengthened or otherwise modified feathers round, or on, the neck of a bird
Ruffnoun
a limicoline bird of Europe and Asia (Pavoncella, / Philommachus, pugnax) allied to the sandpipers. The males during the breeding season have a large ruff of erectile feathers, variable in their colors, on the neck, and yellowish naked tubercles on the face. They are polygamous, and are noted for their pugnacity in the breeding season. The female is called reeve, or rheeve
Ruffnoun
a variety of the domestic pigeon, having a ruff of its neck
Ruffverb
to ruffle; to disorder
Ruffverb
to beat with the ruff or ruffle, as a drum
Ruffverb
to hit, as the prey, without fixing it
Ruffnoun
alt. of Ruffe
Etymology: [Of uncertain origin: cf. Icel. rfinn rough, uncombed, Pr. ruf rude, rough, Sp. rufo frizzed, crisp, curled, G. raufen to pluck, fight, rupfen to pluck, pull, E. rough. 18. Cf. Ruffle to wrinkle.]
Wikidata
Ruff
The Ruff is a medium-sized wading bird that breeds in marshes and wet meadows across northern Eurasia. This highly gregarious sandpiper is migratory and sometimes forms huge flocks in its winter grounds, which include southern and western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia. It is usually considered to be the only member of its genus, and the Broad-billed and Sharp-tailed Sandpipers are its closest relatives. The Ruff is a long-necked, pot-bellied bird. This species shows marked sexual dimorphism; the male is much larger than the female, and has a breeding plumage that includes brightly coloured head tufts, bare orange facial skin, extensive black on the breast, and the large collar of ornamental feathers that inspired this bird's English name. The female and the non-breeding male have grey-brown upperparts and mainly white underparts. Three differently plumaged types of male, including a rare form that mimics the female, use a variety of strategies to obtain mating opportunities at a lek, and the colourful head and neck feathers are erected as part of the elaborate main courting display. The female has one brood per year and lays four eggs in a well-hidden ground nest, incubating the eggs and rearing the chicks, which are mobile soon after hatching, on her own. Predators of wader chicks and eggs include mammals such as foxes, feral cats and stoats, and birds such as large gulls, corvids and skuas.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Ruff
ruf, n. an ornament of frills formerly worn round the neck: anything plaited: a bird belonging to the sandpiper sub-family of the Snipe family, the male with an erectile ruff during the breeding season—fem. Reeve: a band of long hair growing round the neck of some dogs: (mach.) an annular ridge formed on a shaft to prevent motion endwise: a breed of domestic pigeons: (obs.) a display.—v.t. to pucker: to draw up in folds: to ruffle, disorder: in falconry, to hit without trussing: (Scot.) to applaud by making noise with hands or feet.—adj. Ruffed, having a ruff, as the ruffed grouse. [Prob. ruffle.]
Ruff
ruf, n. an old game at cards: the act of trumping when the player has no cards of the suit left.—v.t. to trump in this way. [Perh. conn. with It. ronfa, a card-game.]
Ruff
ruf, n. ruggedness.—v.t. to heckle flax on a coarse heckle: to nap hats.—n. Ruff′er, a coarse heckle for flax.—adj. Ruff′y-tuff′y, disordered, rough.—adv. helter-skelter, pell-mell.
Ruff
ruf, n. a low vibrating beat of a drum.
Ruff
ruf, n. a small fresh-water fish of the Perch family, abundant in England, about six inches long, with only one dorsal fin.—Also Pope.
Suggested Resources
RUFF
What does RUFF stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the RUFF acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
RUFF
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ruff is ranked #2369 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Ruff surname appeared 15,383 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 would have the surname Ruff.
72.6% or 11,177 total occurrences were White.
22.2% or 3,429 total occurrences were Black.
2.1% or 326 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.9% or 292 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.5% or 88 total occurrences were Asian.
0.4% or 71 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of ruff in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of ruff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for ruff
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- KampfläuferGerman
- χοντροσκαλίδρα, ψευτομαχητήςGreek
- combatienteSpanish
- röyhelökaulus, suokukkoFinnish
- fraiseFrench
- nyakfodorHungarian
- gaidukasLithuanian
- gugantisLatvian
- бојникMacedonian
- kemphaanDutch
- ruffPortuguese
- турухтанRussian
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