Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Ruff |
RuffNoun1. A high tight collar. 2. Common Eurasian sandpiper; male has an erectile ruff in breeding season. 3. (cards) the act of taking a trick with a trump when unable to follow suit. Verb1. Play a trump, in card games. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "ruff" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1598. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Slang in 1811 | RUFF. An ornament formerly worn by men and women round their necks. Wooden ruff; the pillory. Source: 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Ruff
breeding birds, mainly malesScientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Charadriiformes Family: Scolopacidae Genus: Philomaches Species: pugnax Binomial name Philomaches pugnax The Ruff, Philomaches pugnax is a medium-sized wader.
Their breeding habitat is bogs, marshes and wet meadows with short vegetation in northern Europe and Russia. Ruff are migratory, wintering in southern and western Europe, Africa and India. They are highly gregarious, with a wintering flock of 1 million birds reported in Senegal.
This species is a rare migrant to North America, but has bred in Alaska, USA.
These birds nest in a well-hidden location on the ground, laying 3-4 eggs. The males display at a lek during the breeding season, standing erect, crouching or taking a variety of postures with the ruff erected. They may jump into the air. They are silent while displaying and when not breeding.
These birds forage in wet grassland and soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and earthworms.
These birds have a distinctive "gravy boat" appearance, with a small head and medium bill, longish neck and pot-bellied profile. Males are larger than females. They have longish usually yellowish legs, and show white ovals on the tail sides in flight.
Breeding males have black, chestnut or white neck ruffs. Their backs are grey-brown and the underparts white except for the black breast. Females are grey-brown above and white below. In winter, both sexes are a paler grey above and white below and can be differentiated only by size. Young birds are like winter birds, but buff below, and their upperparts have a more scaly appearance.
Non-breeding birdsA ruff is also an extended stiff collar, like that of the bird, formerly worn as an item of clothing.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Ruff."
Synonyms: RuffSynonyms: choker (n), neck ruff (n), ruffle (n), trumping (n), trump (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Clothing | Neckerchief, neckcloth; tie, ruff, collar, cravat, stock, handkerchief, scarf; bib, tucker; boa; cummerbund, rumal, rabat. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Ruff |
| English words defined with "ruff": Andean condor ♦ Chlamydosaurus kingi, collie ♦ fraise, frilled lizard ♦ Nayaur ♦ Partlet, Philomachus pugnax ♦ Quellio ♦ reeve, Ruffed, ruffed grouse, ruffed lemur, Ruffing ♦ To do up ♦ Vultur gryphus. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "ruff": Foxites ♦ Riff-raff, RUM RUFF PECK ♦ WOODEN RUFF. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "ruff": Rufterhood. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Ruff" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Norwegian (forecastle), Swedish (deckhouse, rough, rough play). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Lyrics | Stuff so ruff it causes head rush like what (Take it to Da House; performing artist: Trick Daddy) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Ruff & Reddy Show (1957) | |
Song Titles | No More (performing artist: Ruff Endz) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Dog in hat, ruff, and pipe in mouth, begging. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Painting of man with beard wearing ruff. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Ruff RM, Mueller J, Jurica PJ. Estimating premorbid functioning levels after traumatic brain injury. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Ruff" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 79.12% of the time. "Ruff" is used about 91 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 79.12% | 72 | 39,377 |
| Noun (proper) | 10.99% | 10 | 111,207 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 5.49% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 4.4% | 4 | 175,879 |
| Total | 100.00% | 91 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "ruff" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Ruff | Last name | 6,000 | 2,036 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expression using "ruff": neck ruff. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "ruff": ruff-collar, ruff-core, Ruff-diamond, ruff-sized, ruff-sniff, ruff-stuff. | |
Ending with "ruff": G-r-r-ruff, neck-ruff. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
ruff ryders | 1,853 | jin ruff ryder | 24 |
ruff endz | 179 | anthem lyrics ruff ryders | 22 |
jin ruff ryders | 135 | ruff ryders logo | 22 |
endz lyrics ruff | 97 | picture ruff ryders | 22 |
ruff ryders anthem | 85 | endz lyrics mine ruff will | 21 |
ruff | 80 | anthem rider ruff | 20 |
cartoon reddy ruff | 77 | anthem dmx lyrics ruff ryders | 19 |
endz love lyrics ruff someone | 76 | pic ruff ryders | 19 |
motorcycle ruff ryders | 68 | bike ruff ryders | 16 |
ruff ryder | 63 | ruff hewn | 16 |
ruff ryders.com | 45 | ruff ryderz | 16 |
ruff ryders lyrics | 41 | a diamond in the ruff | 16 |
eve ruff ryders | 38 | record ruff ryder | 16 |
end ruff | 38 | cassidy ruff ryders | 14 |
thomas ruff | 36 | dmx ruff ryders | 14 |
record ruff ryders | 30 | drag ruff ryders | 14 |
motorcycle ruff ryder | 27 | official ruff ryders site | 13 |
ruff sex | 26 | ruff ryders clothing | 12 |
club motorcycle ruff ryders | 25 | lyrics ruff ryder | 12 |
ruff wear | 25 | end lyrics ruff | 12 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "ruff"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | pupla rreth qafe, jakë me pala, gushore (necklace, ruffle), grykore. (various references) | |
Arabic | لعب الورقة الرابحة, قبة (canopy, collar, cupola, dome, marabout, roof, ruffle, tester, turtlenecked), إلقاء الورقة الرابحة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | яка от косми, яка от пера, рюш (ruche), ропец (ruffe), цакане, цакам (trump), къдрички, грива (crest, mane), бибан (ruffe), пъстър бойник. (various references) | |
Czech | trumfování, okruží (ruffle), krejzl. (various references) | |
Danish | Georgia-laks, brushane, australsk laks (Australian salmon). (various references) | |
Dutch | kemphaan (fighting cock, gamecock, militant). (various references) | |
Esperanto | duelbirdo (fighting cock, gamecock). (various references) | |
Finnish | kiiski (ruffe), arripi-laji, arripi (Australian salmon). (various references) | |
French | combattant. (various references) | |
German | Krause (crinkliness, frill, frizziness, gathering, ruffle), Kampfläufer. (various references) | |
Greek | ψευτομαχητής. (various references) | |
Hungarian | nyakfodor. (various references) | |
Italian | salmone australiano (Australian salmon), gorgiera, combattente (combatant, fighter, fighting), collare (collar, size). (various references) | |
Manx | ushag roo. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | uffray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | rufo (frill, ruche), trunfo (flaw, joker, trump), trunfar (trump), peixe-grosa da Geórgia, peixe-grosa australiano (Australian salmon), combatente (combatant, fighter, fighting). (various references) | |
Romanian | guler cu pliseuri. (various references) | |
Russian | турухтан, козырь (bargaining chip, bargaining counter, trump), гребень (arris, cam, comb, crest, crown, flange, hackle, peak, pectination, ridge, tongue), ерш (rag-bolt), брыжи. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | pršljivac, nabran okovratnik (neckpiece), grgeč (perch). (various references) | |
Spanish | salmón de Georgia, salmón australiano (Australian salmon), gorguera (gorget), fallar (act up, backfire, Bumble, fail, flaw, give out, give up, let down, make a hash of it, misfire, Miss, rule, trump), escarola (chicory, endive), combatiente (combatant, fighter), collarín (bolster, collar). (various references) | |
Swedish | pipkrage, krås (frill, giblets, ruffle). (various references) | |
Thai | เกมเล่นไพ่ชนิ"หนึ่ง. (various references) | |
Turkish | platika (ruffe), kozla almak, koz ile alma, koz atmak, kırmalı yaka (ruffle), fırfırlı yaka (frill), dövüşken kuş, boyun tüyleri (hackle, ruffle). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | козиряти (trump), козир (trump), гребінь (apex, back, band, cam, comb, crest, crown, flange, hip, wedge), барабанний дріб (tattoo), барабанити (drum, pelt, tattoo). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | sự cắt bằng b i chủ. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | Arripis georgiana, Arripis georgiana (Valenciennes), Arripis trutta, Arripis trutta (Schneider), cicirrus, Philomachus pugnax, RM:rivarel lutgader. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "ruff": ruffe, ruffed, ruffes, ruffian, ruffianism, ruffianisms, ruffianly, ruffians, ruffing, ruffle, ruffled, ruffler, rufflers, ruffles, rufflier, ruffliest, rufflike, ruffling, ruffly, ruffs. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "ruff": antidandruff, crossruff, dandruff, gruff, overruff, scruff, woodruff. (additional references) | |
Words containing "ruff": crossruffed, crossruffing, crossruffs, dandruffs, dandruffy, gruffed, gruffer, gruffest, gruffier, gruffiest, gruffily, gruffing, gruffish, gruffly, gruffness, gruffnesses, gruffs, gruffy, overruffed, overruffing, overruffs, scruffier, scruffiest, scruffily, scruffiness, scruffinesses, scruffs, scruffy, truffe, truffes, truffle, truffled, truffles, unruffled, woodruffs. (additional references) | |
| |
"Ruff" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Aroff, auff, bruf, bruff, cruff, cryuff, dreff, druf, Druiff, eufa, fuff, juff, Kroff, nuff, pruff, Raeff, reff, Reiff, rfu, Rieff, riffy, rof, Rouff, rowff, Ruf, rufa, Rufe, ruffe, ruffy, Rufo, ruft, rupf, rvfa, traff, truff, uff, urf, wuff. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "ruff" (pronounced ru"f) |
| 3 | r u" f | gruff, rough. |
| 2 | -u" f | bluff, buff, cuff, Duff, enough, fluff, guff, huff, Luff, muff, puff, rebuff, scuff, Slough, snuff, stuff, tough, Tuff. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "f-f-r-u" | |
-1 letter: fur. | |
| Words containing the letters "f-f-r-u" | |
+1 letter: gruff, ruffe, ruffs. | |
+2 letters: buffer, duffer, furfur, gruffs, gruffy, puffer, rebuff, ruboff, ruffed, ruffes, ruffle, ruffly, runoff, scruff, suffer, truffe. | |
+3 letters: bluffer, buffers, buffier, chuffer, duffers, earmuff, fearful, forkful, formful, fretful, funfair, gauffer, gruffed, gruffer, gruffly, huffier, muffler, puffers, puffery, puffier, quaffer, rebuffs, restuff, ruboffs, ruffian, ruffing, ruffled, ruffler, ruffles, runoffs, scruffs, scruffy, snuffer, stuffer, suffari, suffers, truffes, truffle, turnoff. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Names: Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Translations: Ancient 15. Derivations 16. Rhymes | 17. Anagrams 18. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
