To ruffle it out in a riotous ruff.
Latimer.
5. (Mil.) A low, vibrating beat of a drum, not so loud as a roll; a
ruffle.
6. (Mach.) A collar on a shaft ot other piece to prevent endwise
motion. See Illust. of Collar.
7. (Zoöl.) A set of lengthened or otherwise modified feathers round, or
on, the neck of a bird.
8. (Zoöl.) (a) A limicoline bird of Europe and Asia (Pavoncella, or
Philommachus, pugnax) allied to the sandpipers. The males during the
breeding season have a large ruff of erectile feathers, variable in
their colors, on the neck, and yellowish naked tubercles on the face.
They are polygamous, and are noted for their pugnacity in the breeding
season. The female is called reeve, or rheeve. (b) A variety of the
domestic pigeon, having a ruff of its neck.
Ruff, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ruffed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Ruffing.] 1. To
ruffle; to disorder. Spenser.