Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ruffle” come from?

Ruffle comes from Middle English ruffelen, from Old Norse hrufla, meaning to curl or wrinkle.

ruffle (English): Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as...

Definitions

  1. Any gathered or curled strip of fabric added as...

Ancestry of “ruffle”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishruffelen—
2Old Norsehruflato graze, scratch

Words derived from “ruffle”

  • riffle
  • ruffler
  • ruffly
  • riffler
  • unruffle
  • unrufflable
  • riffly
  • rufflement
  • ruffleless
  • toruffle
  • ラッフル
Every word from Old Norse hrufla →