ruffe

Variant of ruff

ruff definition

ruff (ruf)

noun

  1. a high, frilled or pleated collar of starched muslin, lace, etc., worn by men and women in the 16th and 17th cent.
  2. a band of distinctively colored or protruding feathers or fur about the neck of an animal or bird
  3. a Eurasian sandpiper (Philomachus pugnax), the male of which grows a large ruff during the breeding season: the female is called a reeve

Etymology: contr. of ruffle,

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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