Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Middle Englishruff(e)
- Englishruffe
From Middle English ruff(e), roffe (“a saltwater fish, esp. of the family Sparidae; the freshwater fish Gymnocephalus cernua”), of uncertain origin. Theories include: * Perhaps an alteration of rough, referring to its scales. * Perhaps from Latin rufus (“red”), referring to the colour of some Sparidae fish.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бопан, ропец
- бопан (bopan)fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
- ропец (ropec)fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Chinese Mandarin 梅花鱸 /梅花鲈
- 梅花鱸 /梅花鲈fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Czech ježdík
- ježdíkfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Dutch pos
- posfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Estonian kiisk
- kiiskfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Finnish kiiski
- kiiskifish of the genus Gymnocephalus
French grémille
- grémillefish of the genus Gymnocephalus
German Kaulbarsch
- Kaulbarschfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Greek περκάκι
- περκάκι (perkáki)fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Hungarian durbincs
- durbincsfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Italian acerina
- acerinafish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Latvian ķīsis
- ķīsisfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Polish jazgarz
- jazgarzfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Romanian ghiborț
- ghiborțfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Russian ёрш
- ёрш (jorš)fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Swedish gärs, snorgärs
- gärsfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
- snorgärsfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
- gersfish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Ukrainian йорж
- йорж (jorž)fish of the genus Gymnocephalus
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
ruffe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruffe
MLA
“ruffe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruffe. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ruffe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ruffe.
Source: ruffe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.