| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
| riffraff |
| |
| SYLLABICATION: | riff·raff |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  r f r f |
| NOUN: | 1. People regarded as disreputable or worthless. 2. Rubbish; trash. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English riffe raffe, from rif and raf, one and all, from Anglo-Norman rif et raf, rifle et rafle : Old French rifler, to rifle; see rifle2 + Old French raffler, to carry off (from raffle, act of seizing; see raffle1).
| | |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
