different between taff vs raff

English

Etymology

Shortened from Taffy, from Welsh Dafydd (“David”).

Pronunciation

Noun

taff (plural taffs)

1. (slang) A Welshman.

Anagrams

• FATF, FTFA

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/
• Rhymes: -af

Noun

taff m (plural taffs)

1. (slang) Alternative form of taf

German

Alternative forms

• tough

Etymology

Originally from Yiddish ????? (tof), from Hebrew ????? (tov, “good”). Modern usage is from English tough, influenced by preexisting German tapfer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/

Adjective

taff (comparative taffer, superlative am taffsten)

1. (colloquial) tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive

   Enrique Iglesias über seine Lebensgefährtin: “Ich wünschte, ich wäre nur halb so taff und kämpferisch.”

Declension

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æf/

Etymology 1

From Middle English raf, from Old French raffer, of Germanic origin; compare German raffen, akin to rap (“to snatch”). Compare riffraff, rip (“to tear”).

Noun

raff (countable and uncountable, plural raffs)

1. A promiscuous heap; a jumble; a large quantity; lumber; refuse.
   • 1680, Isaac Barrow, A Discourse Concerning The Unity Of The Church

     A raff of errors.

2. The common rabble or mob; riffraff.
3. A low fellow; a churl.

Derived terms

• raff merchant

Verb

raff (third-person singular simple present raffs, present participle raffing, simple past and past participle raffed)

1. To sweep, snatch, draw, or huddle together; to take by a promiscuous sweep.
   • 1602, Richard Carew, Survey of Cornwall

     Causes and effects which I thus raffe up together.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• raffe
• raffie

Noun

raff (plural raffs)

1. (nautical) A three-cornered sail set on a schooner when before the wind.

Anagrams

• FFAR

German

Pronunciation

Verb

raff

1. singular imperative of raffen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of raffen

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ra?f/

Noun

raff

1. Soft mutation of rhaff.

Mutation

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present) , “raff”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies