raff

English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

raff^¹

/ɹæf/

Where it comes from

From Middle English raf, from Old French raffer, of Germanic origin; compare German raffen, akin to rap (“to snatch”). Compare riffraff, rip (“to tear”).

noun raffs

countable, dated, uncountable A disorderly heap; a jumble; a large quantity A raff of errors.
countable, dated, uncountable lumber or refuse. [a hut] was fashioned of the raff of the slough—dead fronds, rotting branches, withered marsh grasses. Its sad gray-green were in the living wilderness like a monument to death.
Similar: flotsam
plural, uncountable The common rabble or mob; riffraff. Jostling with unemployed labourers of the lowest class, ballast-heavers, coal-whippers, brazen women, ragged children, and the raff and refuse of the river, he makes his way with difficulty along […]
countable, dated, uncountable A common, crass or low-standing person. Alternatively, a snob. English raffs of every description
Similar: churl

verb raffs · raffing · raffed

dated To sweep, blow, snatch, draw, or huddle together; to sweep up. Causes and effects which I thus raffe up together.

raff^²

/ɹæf/

noun raffs · raffe · raffie

A three-cornered sail set on a schooner when before the wind.

Raff^³

proper noun Raffs

A surname.
UK, slang The RAF (Royal Air Force). in the Raff
A nickname for Raphael or similar sounding names.

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"raff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/raff. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

raff. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/raff

Chicago

"raff." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/raff.

BibTeX

@misc{raff_2026,
  title = {raff},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/raff},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}