• n. 惡棍；流氓；無賴
• adj. 殘暴的；兇惡的；無法無天的

詞源不詳，可能來自 rough 的發(fā)音拼寫訛誤。比較 enough.

ruffian (n.)

1530s, "a boisterous, brutal fellow, one ready to commit any crime," from Middle French rufian "a pimp" (15c.), from Italian ruffiano "a pander, pimp," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Germanic source related to rough (adj.), but Dutch roffiaan, German Ruffian are said to be from French. English meaning might have been influenced by similarity of sound to rough. Related: Ruffianly.

The Romanic words (such as Medieval Latin ruffianus, Proven?al rufian, Catalan rufia, Spanish rufian) preserve the sense of "protector or owner of whores." For sense evolution in English, compare bully (n.).

1. The ruffian threatened to run his victim through if he did not hand over all his money.

暴徒恐嚇受害者說如果他不把所有的錢都交出來,就捅死他.

來自《簡明英漢詞典》

2. He himself was a bad commander, a boaster and ruffian.

他本人是個(gè)弊腳的指揮官, 會(huì)吹牛皮,又粗魯殘暴.

來自辭典例句

3. The doctor struck out suddenly and stretched the ruffian on the ground.

醫(yī)生突然伸手打他,把這個(gè)壞蛋打倒在地下.

來自辭典例句

4. The mere thought of the ruffian made her shudder.

她一想到那個(gè)惡棍就不寒而栗.

來自辭典例句

5. That ruffian is capable of any crime.

那個(gè)惡棍什么勾當(dāng)都做得出來.

來自辭典例句