ruffianly

English

Etymology

ruffian +‎ -ly

Adjective

ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)

  1. Like or having the qualities of a ruffian. [from 16th c.]
    • 1847, Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 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, Geoffrey Montagu Cookson (transl.), The Seven against Thebes, page 136 in Four Plays of Aeschylus.
      One righteous man who reverences the Gods
      Shall shipmate be with a ruffianly crew[…].

Translations

Adverb

ruffianly (comparative more ruffianly, superlative most ruffianly)

  1. In the manner of a ruffian.

Translations
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