▪ I. ruff, n.1
(rʌf)
Forms: 5 rowe, roffe, ruf, 5–9 ruffe, 7– ruff; 7 rough.
[Possibly f. rough a. Cf. the mod.L. name aspredo given to the freshwater fish by Dr. Caius, who drew attention to it about the middle of the 16th cent.]
† 1. A sea-bream or other sparoid fish. Obs. (Cf. ruffle n.3)
| 14.. Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 612 Sparrus, a rowe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 438/2 Ruffe, fysche, sparrus. 1647 Hexham i. (Fishes), A Ruffe or a Sea Breame, een Zee⁓braessem. 1668 Charleton Onomast. 140 Synodon..Ruff, with dogs Teeth. |
2. A small freshwater fish (Acerina cernua) of the perch family, of olive-brown colour with brown and black spots, and having rough prickly scales.
| a 1450 Fysshynge w. Angle (E.D.S.) 15 The bleke and the gogyn & þe Roffe. 1496 Ibid. 29 The ruf is ryght an holsome fysshe: And ye shall angle to him..in the same wise as I haue tolde you of the perche. 1538 Elyot Additions, Melanurus, a kynde of perches, callydde Ruffes. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 173 b, Some sorts..delighting onely in Grauellie, Stonie, and Sandie Waters, as..Gudgins, Bulheads, Ruffes, Trowtes. 1608 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. Schisme 1010 Like as a Roach, or Ruff, or Gudgeon, born By some swift stream into a Weer..Frisks to and fro. 1653 Walton Angler xi. 204 There is also another fish called a Pope, and by some a Ruffe;..it is much like the Pearch for his shape, but will not grow to be bigger than a Gudgion. 1740 R. Brookes Art of Angling i. xv. 44 The Ruff or Pope..is found in most of the large Rivers in England. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIII. 102/1 The Yare has a fish peculiar to it called the ruffe. 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 18 The Ruffe is common to almost all the canals and rivers of England, particularly the Thames, the Isis, and the Cam. 1882 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 105 Great quantities of ruffs are caught at times, and the men's fingers get pricked with their sharp spines. |
† 3. A sea-urchin. Obs.—0
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Erizo, an hedgehog,..also a fish called a Ruffe. 1706 Stevens Span. Dict., Erizo de mar, a deform'd Shell-fish call'd a Ruff. |
▪ II. ruff, n.2
(rʌf)
Also 6–7 ruffe; 6 rouffe, Sc. ruiff, 7 rooffe.
[? f. rough a. Cf. ruffle n.1 and v.1]
† 1. A circular outstanding frill on the sleeve of a garment; a ruffle. Obs.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §151 They haue suche pleytes vpon theyr brestes & ruffes vppon theyr sleues, aboue theyr elbowes. 1591 [see hand-ruff 1]. 1607 Heywood Fayre Mayde Exch. F j, Ruffes for your hands, wast-cotes wrought with silke. 1647 Hexham i, Full of ruffes and foldes, vol rimpelen, ployen ofte vouwen. |
2. An article of neck-wear, usually consisting of starched linen or muslin arranged in horizontal flutings and standing out all round the neck, worn especially in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I.
| 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 320 The collars and ruffes bysette with lyttle rounde baules lyke beades. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 35 They not only continue their great ruffes still, but also vse them bigger than euer they did. c 1618 Moryson Itin. iv. 418 They desyre to haue..falling bands rather then Rooffes, Caps of taffety rather then hatts. 1644 Quarles Sheph. Orac. viii. 47 That heath'nish Ruffe of thine, that perks Upon thy stiffe⁓neckt coller. 1728 Young Love of Fame iv. 122 He shews on holidays a sacred pin, That touch'd the ruff, that touch'd queen Bess's chin. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 263 Must we throw aside the pictures of our ancestors, because of their ruffs and fardingales? 1822 Scott Nigel x, My grey beard falls on a cambric ruff, and a silken doublet. 1880 ‘Ouida’ Moths II. 375 She wore black velvet with a high ruff of old Flemish lace. |
| transf. 1633 P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xxx, As a virgin Rose..Whom too hot scorching beams quite disarayes Down flags her double ruffe. |
b. (See quot.)
| 1858 J. Purchas Direct. Anglic. 21/1 Under this ‘tippet’ is worn what is called by University robe-makers ‘the Ruff’. Note. This ruff is simply a breadth of silk of about two yards long... It is gathered round the neck. |
3. A collar of projecting or distinctively coloured feathers or hair round the neck of various birds and animals.
| 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 56 Monkeys with white Ruffs, and black shagged Bodies. 1760–72 tr. Juan & Ulloa's Voy. (ed. 3) I. 58 A little aboue the beginning of the crop, they haue a ruff of white feathers. 1781 [see 6 below]. 1802 Bingley Anim. Biogr. (1805) II. 475 The male bird does not acquire his ruff till the second season. 1856 Bryant Old Man's Counsel 49 The grouse that wears A sable ruff around his mottled neck. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man II. xvii. 267 The broad ruff round the throat and chin of the Canadian lynx is much longer in the male than in the female. 1887 Standard 28 May 1/2 Lost, a black and Tan Colley Dog, with white ruff. |
b. An artificial variety of the domestic pigeon resembling the jacobin.
| 1735 J. Moore Columbarium 49 The Strain of Jacobines has been much vitiated..in Order to improve their Chain by the Length of the Ruff's Feathers. 1765 Treat. Domest. Pigeons 119 The ruff, if attentively examined, will be found larger than the jack, with a longer beak, and a larger head. 1854 L. A. Meall Moubray's Poultry 285 The similarity between the Ruff and the Jacobine obviates the necessity for describing it. 1881 J. C. Lyell Fancy Pigeons 199 Moore describes a pigeon known as a ruff. |
† 4. the wooden ruff, the pillory. Obs. Cant.
| 1685 Roxb. Ball. (1885) V. 605 The Tories to spight us,..With a damn'd Wooden-Ruff will bedeck our Friend Titus. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Wooden, He wore the Wooden-ruff, he stood in the Pillory. |
5. A circular object resembling a ruff.
| 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 107 You must raise small Shavings out of the Wood of the Branch..and make them hang like a kind of Ruff on the Extremity of that Bark. 1742 Pope Dunciad iv. 407 Soft on the paper ruff its leaves I spread. 1864 Webster, Ruff,..an annular ridge formed on a shaft, or other piece, to prevent it from moving endwise. Ruffs are also sometimes loose rings. |
6. attrib. and Comb., as ruff band, ruff sleeve; ruff-like, ruff-necked adjs.
| 1558 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 28 Imployed whoolye in to twoo greate gounes with Ruff Sleves. 1591 Florio 2nd Fruites 9 Eight ruffe bands with their hand cuffs wrought with silke. 1639 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) II. 167 To Sibbill Hudsonne one ruffe band. 1781 Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 269 Ruff-necked Parrot... When it erects the neck feathers, it makes the appearance of a ruff round the head. 1782 Ibid. ii. 785 Ruff-necked Humming Bird. 1838 Audubon Ornith. Biog. IV. 555 Ruff-Necked Humming Bird. Trochilus Rufus. 1854 L. A. Meall Moubray's Poultry 286 A compact mass of ruff-like feathers. |
▸ N. Amer. A fringe of real or artificial fur used as trim along the edge of the hood or neckline of a garment.
| 1929 B. Willoughby Trail Eater 69 Slowly, appraisingly, her eyes passed from his slender muklaked ankles to his tanned face above the ruff of his parka. 1976 Theata iv. 29 The wolf skin we use for mukluks or ruffs for the jacket and parkie, the wolf head we use for mittens. 1990 M. Armstrong Agviq iv. 53 He stood about fifty feet away,..dressed in a white atigi, dark brown wolverine ruff around the hood, a blue baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. 2000 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. (Nexis) 20 Oct. d1 Cashmere sweaters with a ruff of faux fur. |
▪ III. ruff, n.3
(rʌf)
Also 6–7 ruffe.
[ad. OF. roffle, rouffle, earlier romfle, ronfle (1414), = It. ronfa (Florio), a certain card-game, perh. a popular corruption of F. triomphe, It. trionfo: see trump.
Godefroy also cites a F. dial. roufe as meaning ‘the highest of two cards which one returns along with the trump-card in the game of quarante’. Pg. rufa and rifa denote a set of cards of one suit.]
† 1. A former card-game. Also ruff and honours.
Literary allusions occur chiefly between 1590 and 1630.
| 1589 Nashe Martin Marprelate Wks. (Grosart) I. 161 Leauing the auncient game of England (Trumpe) where euerie coate and sute are sorted in their degree, [they] are running to their Ruffe where the greatest sorte of the sute carrieth away the game. 1600 Rowlands Lett. Humours Blood iv. 64 At Ticktacke, Irish, Noddie, Maw, and Ruffe. 1611 Davis Panegyrick Verses in Coryat's Crudities, Of that tongue he so hath got the Body That he sports with it at Ruffe, Gleeke, or Noddy. 1674 Cotton Compl. Gamester (1680) 81 Ruff and Honours (alias Slamm) and Whist, are Games..commonly known in England in all parts thereof. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xvi. (Roxb.) 72/1 Ruffe and Honors and Whisk, which are generally among the Vulgar termed Trump. |
† 2. (See later quots.) Obs.
| 1611 Cotgr., Triomphe, the Card-game called Ruffe, or Trump; also, the Ruffe, or trump at it. 1651 Royal Game of Picquet 11 After they have done discarding,..they then begin to look after the Ruffe, and to see how much each of them can make of a suit. 1674 Cotton Compl. Gamester (1680) 66 Next you speak for the Ruff, and he that hath most of a suit in his hand wins it, unless some of the Gamesters have four Aces, and then he gains the Ruff. |
3. a. [f. ruff v.2 2.] The act of trumping at cards, esp. in whist, when one cannot follow suit.
| 1856 Handbk. Games (Bohn) 176 You may suspect the lead was from a single card, and with a view to a ruff. 1856 Lt. Col. B. Whist-player (1858) 31 You obtain the desired ruff to a certainty. |
b. Comb. ruff and discard Bridge, an opportunity (usu. for declarer) to win a trick by ruffing in one hand while discarding a loser from the other.
| 1939 N. de V. Hart Bridge Players' Bedside Bk. xxxix. 120 If West leads a Heart, then declarer gets a ruff-and-discard which enables him to ruff the third round of either minor suit. 1972 R. Markus Common-Sense Bridge iii. 102 A ruff and discard disposed of a losing club. 1977 Bridge Mag. July 34/2 Aunt Agatha now played the king of clubs, giving West the option of conceding a ruff and discard or leading away from his king of spades. |
▪ IV. ruff, n.4
(rʌf)
[Perh. from ruff n.2 3, but this leaves the similarity to reeve n.2 unexplained.]
The male of a bird of the sandpiper family (Tringa or Machetes pugnax), distinguished during the breeding-season by a ruff and ear-tufts.
| 1634, 1648 [see reeve n.2]. 1663 Dryden Wild Gallant i. iii, I have a delicate dish of ruffs to dinner. 1752 Hill Hist. Anim. 475 We call the male the ruff and the female the reeve. 1768 Pennant Brit. Zool. II. 363 The males or Ruffs assume such variety of colors in several parts of their plumage, that it is scarce possible to see two alike. 1839 Stonehouse Isle of Axholme 66 Those very curious and beautiful birds, the ruffs, are now seldom to be met with. 1843 Yarrell Brit. Birds II. 574 The Ruff..may be considered only as a summer visiter to this country. 1863 Sat. Rev. 284 The extension of drainage has banished the avoset, and the ruff, and the godwit from our eastern marshes. |
▪ V. ruff, n.5
(rʌf)
Also 7 roofe.
[? Imitative.]
1. = ruffle n.4 (Hence perh. Pg. rufo.)
| 1688 [see roll n.2 2]. 1706 Farquhar Recruiting Officer v. ii, The drum beats a ruff, and so to bed. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 137 At the turning of every glass during the night we beat 3 ruffs on the drum. 1811 Boswell Sir Albon Poet. Wks. (1871) 102 Quicker than the drum-boy's ruff His horse hoofs clatter'd hard and tough. 1927 Melody Maker Aug. 804/3 All the various beats used in military drumming. The stroke-and-drag paradiddle and the four-stroke ruff, for instance, are not essential. 1957 A. A. Shivas Art of Tympanist & Drummer i. 30 Embellishments. These are very important and much used in side drumming... The three important ones are the flam, the drag and the ruff. |
2. Sc. An expression of applause by making a noise with the feet.
| 1801– in Eng. Dial. Dict. |
▪ VI. † ruff, n.6 Obs.
Also 6–7 ruffe.
[Of obscure origin. Cf. Sw. ruff spirit, go.]
1. The highest pitch or fullest degree of some exalted or excited condition. Usu. in the ruff of.
| 1549 Latimer 2nd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 49 Wher is all thy ruffe of thy gloriousnes become? 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. Wks. (Grosart) I. 199 He, which in the ruffe of his freshest iollity, was faine to cry [etc.]. 1622 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. vii. §1. 261 When they view themselues in the ruffe of their greatnes, they are vtterly ashamed, to thinke of their first littlenesse. 1692 L'Estrange Fables (1694) 39 How many Emperours and Princes..in the Ruff of all their glory have been taken down. |
2. An exalted or elated state; elation, pride, vainglory: a. With possessive pronouns, esp. in phr. in his (or their) ruff. (Very common from c 1570 to 1675).
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 30 The duke of Burgoyn beyng now in his ruffe..toke upon him the hole rule and governance of the realme. 1568 V. Skinner tr. Montanus' Inquisit. 46 b, Such is their ruffe in that triumph. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osorius 319 Which would undertake so weerysome a course for his Rhetoricall ruffe. 1615 W. Hull Mirr. Maiestie 51 What came ye out to see? a mere mortall man in the huffe of his ruffe? 1653 J. Carter Tombstone 107 They think in their ruffe and gallantry that none can pluck them down; they vaunt, who shall us controule? a 1679 Goodwin Creatures ii. x. Wks. 1683 II. 96 When the Saints shall be in their ruff and glory. |
b. Without article, esp. in phr. in (great, jolly, rash, etc.) ruff.
| 1555 J. Proctor Hist. Wyat's Rebellion 30 Where thei..displaied their Ensignes brauelie: seeming to be in great ruffe. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & Fly lvii, Who that (in rash roofe) beginneth to contende, He repenth beginning, ere he cum to ende. 1567 Golding tr. Ovid's Met. xii. 318 In jolly ruffe he passed straight. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xiv. (1887) 68 Against all..with whom all vertues be voluntarie, when reason is in ruffe. 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 34 He tooke vpon him the defence of the Sea Apostolike in managing with huffe and ruffe this foisted in authoritie. [1624 J. Gee Hold fast 50 A vigorous Iesuite..attired like a Gallant of none of the lowest ruffe.] |
c. In phr. in the (high) ruff.
| 1600 Holland Livy xxviii. xxviii. 690 Being in the ruffe and jolitie upon their fresh and late victorie. 1607 R. C[arew] tr. Estienne's World of Wonders 352 Whilest the folly of the former abuses was in the ruffe. 1690 Andros Tracts II. 64 Methods that must be taken to unite England,..and subdue France, (now in the high Ruff). |
3. Her. Of a ship: in her ruff, in full course.
| 1562 Legh Armory 178 b, He beareth Or, a Shippe vnder Saile in her ruffe Sable. 1586 J. Ferne Blaz. Gentrie 38 You haue heard of two thinges, a ship in her ruffe and a fayre lady..most worthye of sight. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xxii, The Dolphin..outstrippeth a Ship under sayle, in her greatest ruffe and merriest winde, in swiftness of course. 1688 Holme Armoury iii. xv. (Roxb.) 33/1 He beareth Argent, a Ship in her Ruffe, vnder full Saile and Streamers flying, all proper. |
4. Excitement, passion, fury. Freq. in a ruff.
| 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. xiii. (1593) 296 In the mids of all His bloodie ruffe I coupt with him. 1604 Parsons 3rd Pt. Three Convers. Eng. 112 All ignorant Craftesmen of Kent, but yet sett in such a ruffe with the heate of new opinions. 1611 J. Davies (Heref.) Scourge Folly Wks. (Grosart) II. 76 Such Stuffe (As might put plainest Pacience in a Ruffe). 1641 Hinde J. Bruen lii. 173 There was a Gentleman, who..in his heat and ruffe sent his man to this Gentleman with this message, &c. |
▪ VII. † ruff, n.7 Obs.—0
[Of obscure origin.]
A candle or candle-wick.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 439/1 Ruffe candel, hirsepa, funale. 1570 Levins Manip. 183 Y⊇ Ruffe of a candle, finale. |
▪ VIII. † ruff, n.8 Obs.—1
(See quot.)
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 243 Moreover in the river Donow, there is taken the Mario, a fish much like to a Ruffe or Porpuis [L. porculo marino simillimus]. |
▪ IX. † ruff, n.9 Obs. rare.
A blockhead.
| 1606 Choice, Chance & Change (1881) 66 The next was on a fool, on a swaggering ruffe. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. Ep. Ded., Though it may seem but a wooden come off, and like that of the sorry numb-skull'd Ruffes. |
▪ X. ruff
var. rough n.1; Sc. var. ro, rest. Obs.
▪ XI. † ruff, a. Obs. rare.
(Meaning not clear, but perh. only a variant spelling of rough a.)
| 1651 T. Barker Art of Angling (1653) 15 When your grid-iron is hot you must coole it with ruff suet. 1676 Worlidge Cyder (1691) 161 Let your murc or chaff..abide in the must..more or less ruff or tinctured. |
▪ XII. ruff
obs. f. rough a. and adv.
▪ XIII. ruff, v.1 Now rare.
(rʌf)
Forms: 6–7 ruf, ruffe, 6– ruff.
[? f. ruff n.2 Cf. ruffle v.1]
1. trans. To form into a ruff or ruffs; to provide with a ruff or ruffs. Also with up.
Chiefly in pa. pple.; cf. ruffed ppl. a.1 3.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 134 b, His base and bard wer cloth of siluer, and blacke veluet ruffed and not plain. 1571 A. Jenkinson Voy. & Trav. (Hakl. Soc.) I. 39 The sleeues thereof very long, which he weareth on his arme ruffed up. 1592 Greene Def. Conny Catch. Wks. (Grosart) XI. 95 The round hose bumbasted close to the breech, and ruft aboue the necke with a curle. 1647 Hexham i, To ruffe, or gather into a ruffe, rimpelen ofte fronsen vergaderen. 1834 J. R. Planché Hist. Brit. Cost. 238 The sleeves were also ruffed or ruffled at the hand. |
2. † a. Of a bird: To ruffle (the feathers). Obs.
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 27 Thenceforth the fether in her lofty crest, Ruffed of love, gan lowly to availe. Ibid. xi. 32 The proud Bird, ruffing his fethers wyde. 1597 Drayton Heroical Ep. 67 b, The siluer swannes..Ruffing theyr plumes, come glyding on the lake. |
b. To make rough; to disorder. rare.
| 1817–8 Cobbett Resid. U.S. (1822) 338 To return to the thatching: Straw.., in very high winds,..is liable, if not reeded, to be ruffed a good deal. |
† 3. Falconry. Of a hawk: To strike (the quarry) without securing it. Obs.
| 1575 Turberv. Falconry 122 Your Falcon wyll stowpe hir and ruffe hir, vntyll the dogges maye take hir. 1620–6 Quarles Feast for Wormes 103 If in her downy Soreage, she but ruffe So strong a Doue, may it be thought enough. 1646 G. Daniel Poems Wks. (Grosart) I. 97 Give her way to kill The Harpie She has ruff't; for I dare say She has earn'd her Bells, to bring downe such a prey. |
▪ XIV. ruff, v.2
(rʌf)
Forms: 6– ruff, 7 ruffe, 8–9 rough.
[Related to ruff n.3]
† 1. intr. (See quot. 1674.) Obs. rare.
| 1598 Florio, Ronfare,..also to ruff or trump at cards. 1674 Cotton Compl. Gamester (1680) 82 He that hath the Ace of that [i.e. trumps], Ruffs; that is, he takes in those four Cards, and lays out four others in their lieu. |
2. a. trans. To trump (a card, etc.) when unable to follow suit. Freq. absol.
| 1760 Murphy Way to Keep Him iii. i, Sir George, why did not you rough the spade? 1813 Hoyle's Games of Whist & Quadrille 50 Ruff, and over-ruff, to trump a suit led, second or third hand. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxv, Why Mr. Pickwick had not..roughed the spade, or finessed the heart. 1856 Lt. Col. B. Whist-player (1858) 36 A suit being so frequently ruffed third round. 1885 Proctor Whist 49 The state of the score might render it advisable to take the trick lest second round should be ruffed. |
| absol. 1781 Hutton Tour to Caves Gloss. (ed. 2) 95 Rough, to renounce at cards. 1865 Lowell Thoreau Prose Wks. 1890 I. 372 He wishes always to trump your suit and to ruff when you least expect it. 1885 Proctor Whist 71 Ruff at every opportunity if so weak in trumps that you cannot hope to disarm the enemy. |
b. Const. out. To defeat (a card, etc.) by ruffing, so as to establish master cards in the suit led; also, with suit as object.
| 1927 M. C. Work Contract Bridge 141 Ruffing out, trumping the low cards of a suit before playing its high cards. 1939 N. de V. Hart Bridge Players' Bedside Bk. 22, I laid down dummy's Ace and King of Hearts, and then tried to ruff out the suit. 1960 T. Reese Play Bridge with Reese 23 If the spades are breaking as well, I can play Ace and another spade, ruff out the King of clubs and enter dummy to make two long clubs. 1967 P. Anderton Play Bridge xi. 88 South covers with his A...and West trumps. This procedure is known as ruffing out a suit and East now holds the master cards in the Spade suit. 1972 Times 20 May 13/3 She ruffed out the clubs ruffing the third round with the ♡10. |
▪ XV. ruff, v.3 Sc.
(rʌf)
[f. ruff n.5 Cf. Pg. rufar.]
1. trans. To beat a ruff or ruffle upon (a drum). Also intr. of a drum: To be thus beaten.
| 1827 W. Taylor Poems 65 (E.D.D.), He..ruff'd the drum at ilka door. 1828 Moir Mansie Wauch xiv. 206 The drum ruffed, and off set four of them. |
2. trans. and intr. To applaud by making a noise with the feet.
| 1826 Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. 1855 I. 243 A' the crowd ruffin the exploit. 1842 Vedder Poems 104 They ruffed, and for the ditty clamoured. 1877 in J. A. Chalmers Tiyo Soga 419 He was..heartily ruffed by his fellow-students. |
▪ XVI. † ruff, v.4 Obs.
Also 7 ruffe, ruf.
[f. ruff n.6]
1. intr. To swagger, bluster, domineer. Also with it and out.
| 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 65 This foundation thus laid, then to huffe and ruffe it out, a Councell of women must be called to set cocke ahoope. 1612 T. James Jesuits' Downf. 65 He is now become that learned counseller, that must rule, ruffe, and range through every estate. 1683 Songs Lond. Prentices (Percy Soc.) 77 Rufing thus, They gave him words opprobrious. |
2. To brag or boast of a thing.
| 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 107 [A letter] to be huffed, ruffed and vanted of. |
▪ XVII. ruff, v.5
(rʌf)
[var. of rough v.1]
1. trans. To heckle (flax) with a ruffer.
| 1853 Ure Dict. Arts (ed. 4) I. 741 He seizes the ruffed part of the strick.., and proceeds by similar treatment to ‘ruff’ the top end. |
2. To work the beaver felt into (a hat-body).
| 1845 [see ruffing vbl. n.3]. 1868 J. Thomson Hat-making & Felting 37 The known impossibility of napping or ruffing a hat by any means with machinery. |