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Raffles
is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
noun
1.
a form of lottery in which a number of persons buy one or more chances to win a prize.
verb (used with object)
2.
to dispose of by a raffle (often followed by off ): to raffle off a watch.
verb (used without object)
3.
to take part in a raffle.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English rafle dice game < Middle French, derivative of rafler to snatch; cf. raff
1350–1400; Middle English rafle dice game < Middle French, derivative of rafler to snatch; cf. raff
Related forms
raf·fler, noun
un·raf·fled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To raffles
Collins
World English Dictionary
raffle (ˈræfəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a lottery in which the prizes are goods rather than money |
| b. (as modifier): a raffle ticket | |
| —vb (often foll by off) | |
| 2. | to dispose of (goods) in a raffle |
| [C14 (a dice game): from Old French, of obscure origin] | |
| 'raffler | |
| —n | |
| Raffles (ˈræfəlz) | |
| —n | |
| Sir Thomas Stamford. 1781--1826, British colonial administrator: founded Singapore (1819) as a station for the British East India Company | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
raffle
late 14c., from O.Fr. rafle "dice game," also "plundering," perhaps from a Gmc. source (cf. M.Du. raffel "dice game," O.Fris. hreppa "to move," O.N. hreppa "to reach, get," Ger. raffen "to snatch away, sweep off"), from P.Gmc. *khrap- "to pluck out, snatch off." The notion would be "to sweep up (the
stakes), to snatch (the winnings)." Dietz connects the O.Fr. word with the Gmc. root, but OED is against this. Meaning "sale of chances" first recorded 1766.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Nearby Words
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