riffraff

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word riffraff. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word riffraff, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say riffraff in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word riffraff you have here. The definition of the word riffraff will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofriffraff, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: riff-raff

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

Noun

riffraff (usually uncountable, plural riffraffs)

  1. (informal, somewhat derogatory) The rabble; crowds; people of a low, disreputable or undesirable class or position.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:commonalty
    They started charging a modest fee in an effort to keep the riffraff out.
  2. (informal) Sweepings; refuse.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia