raffles

[raf-uhlz]

raf·fles

[raf-uhlz]
noun (often initial capital letter)
a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like.

Origin:
1925–30; after Raffles, hero of The Amateur Cracksman, by E. W. Hornung (1866–1921), English novelist

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Raffles is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

Raf·fles

[raf-uhlz]
noun
Sir Thomas Stamford, 1781–1826, English colonial administrator in the East Indies.

raf·fle

1[raf-uhl] noun, verb, raf·fled, raf·fling.
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; compare raff

raf·fler, noun
un·raf·fled, adjective

raf·fle

2[raf-uhl]
noun
2.
Nautical. a tangle, as of ropes, canvas, etc.

Origin:
1790–1800; raff + -le
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To raffles
Collins
World English Dictionary
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
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