Home UK English raff

Meaning of raff in English:

raff

Pronunciation /raf/

noun

(also reeaf)

  • 1Scottish, British dialect Worthless material; trash, rubbish, refuse. Also occasionally: miscellaneous material, odds and ends.

  • 2People of the lowest social class considered collectively; disreputable or undesirable people.

  • 3With the: the most disreputable or the lowest element of a class, community, etc.; the common run of people; the rabble.

  • 4A base, worthless person; a member of the riff-raff.

    Originally used by members of the University of Oxford to denote a townsman.

Origin

Late Middle English (in an earlier sense). Apparently partly short for riff and raff one and all, everyone, everything, and partly (especially in later use) shortened from riff-raff.