riffraff

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riffraff

/ˈɹɪfɹæf/

Where it comes from

From Old French rif et raf (“one and all”), of Germanic origin. The first word is from rifler (“to scrape off”) and the last is from raffler, related to rafler (“to plunder”).

noun riffraffs · riff-raff

derogatory, informal, uncountable, usually The rabble; crowds; people of a low, disreputable or undesirable class or position. They started charging a modest fee in an effort to keep the riffraff out.
Similar: canaille, commonality, commonalty, crowd, commonage, demos, everyone, general public, great unhosed, great unwashed, herd, hoi polloi
informal, uncountable, usually Sweepings; refuse.

Translations

Every language

noun the rabble

Español	gentuza, gentualla, flaite, chusma, gente de baja estofa, gleba
日本語	下層民 kasōmin, 下層階級 kasō kaikyū, 有象無象 uzō muzō
中文	廢物 /废物 fèiwù, 賤民 /贱民 jiànmín, 下等人 xiàděngrén, 流氓 liúmáng, 烏合之眾 /乌合之众 wūhézhīzhòng
Português	gentalha, ralé
Français	racaille, populace, canaille, plèbe, masses, tout-venant
Deutsch	Pöbel, Plebs, gemeines Volk
Italiano	tamarro, lazzarone, coatto
Ελληνικά	αληταρία alitaría
Română	plebe, gloată
Русский	че́рнь čérnʹ, сбро́д sbród, бы́дло býdlo
العربية	رَعَاع raʕāʕ

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{riffraff_2026,
  title = {riffraff},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/riffraff},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}