英语词汇riffraff的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

riffraff. Riffraff has a complicated history for a little word. It is apparently based on the French phrase rif et raf, meaning “one and all.” When first used in English rif and raf meant just that, but by the 15th century riffraff had been compressed from the phrase and meant something entirely different—the dregs of humanity, trash, worthless people. This radical change has been explained in several ways. It may be that another sense of the French phrase rif et raf, “a collection of people who steal,” is responsible. Or raf, may have become confused with the Swed- ish word rafs, meaning rubbish, riffraff coming to mean “refuse and rubbish.” Another possibility is that the present meaning derives from the French verbs rifler, “to ransack,” and raffler, “to snatch away,” anyone who ransacked or snatched something away being considered riffraff. Or the opposite of the phrase riff and raff may have something to do with the coinage. Riff nor raff meant “nothing whatsoever” and someone who had riff nor raff might have become riffraff, worthless.

词汇	riffraff
词源	riffraff. Riffraff has a complicated history for a little word. It is apparently based on the French phrase rif et raf, meaning “one and all.” When first used in English rif and raf meant just that, but by the 15th century riffraff had been compressed from the phrase and meant something entirely different—the dregs of humanity, trash, worthless people. This radical change has been explained in several ways. It may be that another sense of the French phrase rif et raf, “a collection of people who steal,” is responsible. Or raf, may have become confused with the Swed- ish word rafs, meaning rubbish, riffraff coming to mean “refuse and rubbish.” Another possibility is that the present meaning derives from the French verbs rifler, “to ransack,” and raffler, “to snatch away,” anyone who ransacked or snatched something away being considered riffraff. Or the opposite of the phrase riff and raff may have something to do with the coinage. Riff nor raff meant “nothing whatsoever” and someone who had riff nor raff might have become riffraff, worthless.
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