Link Centre Dictionary

raffish

raf·fish

UK/ˈɹæfɪʃ/ US/ˈræfɪʃ/ uncommon

adjective

1.

marked by smartness in dress and manners

  • “a dapper young man”
  • “a jaunty red hat”
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2.

marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness

  • “a cocktail party given by some...raffish bachelors” Crary Moore
Synonyms
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Origin

From late 18th century raff (“persons among the lowest class in society”) + -ish, still retained in contemporary English with riffraff. From Old French raffer (“to wear away”), of Germanic origin. Compare German raffen. Compare rip (“to tear”), rap (“to snatch”).

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Word family

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.