*raffi*

prop. n. The natural family of mammals including the giraffes.
Syn. -- family Giraffidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

‖n. pl. [ It., pl. of graffito scratched ] 1. Inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs, or at Pompeii. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. any writings or drawings on a surface in a public place, placed there without authorization of the owner of the object on which it is written. Such graffiti are usually unwelcome, and are considered as form of vandalism. [ PJC ]

n. [ It., fr. graffio a scratching. ] 1. (Art) Production of decorative designs by scratching them through a surface of layer plaster, glazing, etc., revealing a different-colored ground; also, pottery or ware so decorated; -- chiefly used attributively. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. the singular form of graffiti, seldom used. [ PJC ]

n. Mutual trade of traffic. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ F. paraffine, fr. L. parum too little + affinis akin. So named in allusion to its chemical inactivity. ] (Chem.) A white waxy substance, resembling spermaceti, tasteless and odorless, and obtained from coal tar, wood tar, petroleum, etc., by distillation. It is used in candles, as a sealing agent (such as in canning of preserves), as a waterproofing agent, as an illuminant and as a lubricant. It is very inert, not being acted upon by most of the strong chemical reagents. It was formerly regarded as a definite compound, but is now known to be a complex mixture of several higher hydrocarbons of the methane or marsh-gas series; hence, by extension, any substance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous, of the same chemical series; thus gasoline, coal gas and kerosene consist largely of paraffins. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

☞ In the present chemical usage this word is spelled paraffin, but in commerce it is commonly spelled paraffine. [ 1913 Webster ]

Native paraffin. See Ozocerite. --
Paraffin series. See Methane series, under Methane. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A fibrous material used for tying plants, said to come from the leaves of a palm tree of the genus Raphia. J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants). [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) A pinnate-leaved palm (Raphia ruffia) native of Madagascar, and of considerable economic importance on account of the strong fiber (raffia) obtained from its leafstalks. (b) The jupati palm. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ F. raffiner to refine. ] (Chem.) A colorless crystalline slightly sweet substance obtained from the molasses of the sugar beet. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Resembling, or having the character of, raff, or a raff; worthless; low. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sad, raffish, disreputable character. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Mildly disreputable; disregarding conventional morality; charmingly dissolute{ 3 } or nonconformist. [ PJC ]

Tales of his [ Ted Kennedy's ] drinking and raffish behavior have become part of his public persona, often lumped under a vaster damnation known as “the character issue”.
. . .
He appears to compartmentalize his off-duty conduct and his Senate responsibilities; during dozens of interviews for this article, with friends and foes, not one could cite an instance in which drinking appeared to impair him professionally. His adversaries grumble about it anyway; friends portray it as relatively harmless and charming.

Orrin Hatch, the conservative Utah Republican who is also a Mormon, tells this story with what he describes as “a tremendous brotherly affection.” Two days before the Senate adjourned in October 1988, Hatch took a call from Frank Madsen, a former aide who had moved to Boston to supervise 200 young Mormon missionaries. Would Hatch come speak to them? Would he bring Kennedy? Would he ask Kennedy to reserve Faneuil Hall for the event?

With some misgivings, Hatch agreed to try. Shortly before midnight, he found Kennedy and Chris Dodd in the Capitol. Neither was feeling any pain.

“Ted, I've got a favor to ask.”

Kennedy wrapped an arm around Hatch. “Done!”

Hatch held up a restraining hand. “No, hear me out. You remember my aide, Frank Madsen -- ”

“Great fellow! Great fellow!”

“He's now in Boston -- ”

“My home town! My home town!”

Hatch eventually made his request. Kennedy assented. Hatch returned to his office, typed out the agreement and sent it to Kennedy's office. The next day, Hatch spied Kennedy reading the memo. “Orrin, ” Kennedy called in mock horror, “what else did I agree to?” Three months later, in January 1989, Hatch and Kennedy stood elbow-to-elbow in Faneuil Hall, addressing the Mormon missionaries. Rick Atkinson, Washington Post, Sept. 29, 1990 [ PJC ]

3. Dissolute; rakish. [ PJC ]

Of all such places, Santa Fe may well be the least raffish. At least in the off-season, it's a town that goes to bed early, showing all the prudent reserve of a city of bankers and claims adjusters. In the historic center, a visitor searches in vain for tawdry traces of the hard-drinking, wild-womanizing, heavy-gambling cowboy town this once must have been. Brad Leithauser (“Santa Fe”, in New York Times Magazine / May 13, 2001). [ PJC ]

Over the years, it [ Macau ] has maintained a downright raffish atmosphere, complete with warring gangsters. Yvette Ziols. [ PJC ]

4. Vulgarly gaudy; cheap and tawdry; as, a tendency toward gaudy jewelry, bright colors and generally raffish dress. [ PJC ]

A lonely orphan, Lilli, lands a job with a raffish and run-down carnival. The wide-eyed and innocent orphan is mesmerized by its gritty, tawdry glamour. Anonymous review of the play Carnival (https://web.archive.org/web/20040904064952/http://www.kt-online.org/plays/02-carnival-frame.html) [ PJC ]

4. Appealing to or frequented by dissolute or disreputable people; as, a raffish night club. [ PJC ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Paint.) Scratched; -- said of decorative painting of a certain style, in which a white overland surface is cut or scratched through, so as to form the design from a dark ground underneath. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Trafficked p. pr. & vb. n. Trafficking ] [ F. trafiquer; cf. It. trafficare, Sp. traficar, trafagar, Pg. traficar, trafegar, trafeguear, LL. traficare; of uncertain origin, perhaps fr. L. trans across, over + -ficare to make (see -fy, and cf. G. übermachen to transmit, send over, e. g., money, wares); or cf. Pg. trasfegar to pour out from one vessel into another, OPg. also, to traffic, perhaps fr. (assumed) LL. vicare to exchange, from L. vicis change (cf. Vicar). ] 1. To pass goods and commodities from one person to another for an equivalent in goods or money; to buy or sell goods; to barter; to trade. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To trade meanly or mercenarily; to bargain. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To exchange in traffic; to effect by a bargain or for a consideration. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. trafic, It. traffico, Sp. tráfico, tráfago, Pg. tráfego, LL. traficum, trafica. See Traffic, v. ] 1. Commerce, either by barter or by buying and selling; interchange of goods and commodities; trade. [ 1913 Webster ]

A merchant of great traffic through the world. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The traffic in honors, places, and pardons. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This word, like trade, comprehends every species of dealing in the exchange or passing of goods or merchandise from hand to hand for an equivalent, unless the business of relating may be excepted. It signifies appropriately foreign trade, but is not limited to that. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

2. Commodities of the market. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

You 'll see a draggled damsel
From Billingsgate her fishy traffic bear. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The business done upon a railway, steamboat line, etc., with reference to the number of passengers or the amount of freight carried. [ 1913 Webster ]

Traffic return, a periodical statement of the receipts for goods and passengers, as on a railway line. --
Traffic taker, a computer of the returns of traffic on a railway, steamboat line, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being disposed of in traffic; marketable. [ Obs. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who traffics, or carries on commerce; a trader; a merchant. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Destitute of traffic, or trade. [ 1913 Webster ]