ruffianly
English edit
Etymology edit
Adjective edit
ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)
- Like or having the qualities of a ruffian. [from 16th c.]
- 1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, section I:
- Joseph mumbled indistinctly in the depth of the cellar, but gave no intimation of ascending; so his master dived down to him, leaving me vis-à-vis the ruffianly bitch and a pair of grim shaggy sheepdogs […].
- 1922, “The Seven against Thebes”, in Geoffrey Montagu Cookson, transl., Four Plays of Aeschylus, page 136:
- One righteous man who reverences the Gods
Shall shipmate be with a ruffianly crew[…].
Translations edit
like or having the qualities of a ruffian
Adverb edit
ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)
- In the manner of a ruffian.
Translations edit
in the manner of a ruffian