neck ruff
- noun
- /nɛk rʌf/
- Archaic
:
gorguera
- In the painting, the gentleman is adorned with a large neck ruff, typical of fashion in the 17th century.
Examples
-
The noblewoman wore an elaborate neck ruff made of fine lace, showcasing her status in the court.
-
I am uncomfortable enough in a standard four-in-hand tie; pity the poor seventeenth-century businessmen and divines, so often depicted in their constraining neck ruffs.
Academic text (1991) -
During the history lesson, we learned that the neck ruff was a popular accessory among European aristocrats.
Synonyms
121
1.0
A band of material around the neck of a shirt, coat, dress, or shoe
21
5.6
A strip of gathered cloth used as a decorative edge on clothes
1
9.9
A large stiff collar of pleated fabric worn in the 16th and 17th centuries
1
5.4
An item worn around the neck, like a collar or necklace
A small decorative band worn around the neck like a collar
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents directly contribute to the meaning: 'ruff' denotes a large stiff pleated collar and 'neck' specifies its location, so the combined noun clearly refers to a collar worn at the neck. This is a straightforward descriptive composition found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both words would reasonably infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Neck ruff names a high, stiff frill of cloth worn around the neck in the 1500s and 1600s. The frill was made stiff with starch and folded into a circle like a white flower, so ruff came to mean that stiff collar and the whole phrase means 'a high, decorative collar'.