English

ruffe

Ruffe comes from Middle English rof ‘a saltwater fish, esp. of the family Sparidae’, from Old English hrōf ‘roof’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *krāwə- ‘to cover, heap’.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāwə-¹‘to cover, heap’reconstructed
Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāpo-¹reconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōfą²‘roof’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōf²reconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150hrōf²‘roof’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rof³as ruff(e)‘a saltwater fish, esp. of the family Sparidae’
Englishtodayruffe³

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

¹ Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hrōfą
² Wiktionary, Middle English rof
³ Wiktionary, English ruffe

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāwə-1Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hrōfą‘to cover, heap’reconstructed
Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*krāpo-1Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *hrōfąreconstructed
Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hrōfą2Wiktionary, Middle English rof‘roof’reconstructed
Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hrōf2Wiktionary, Middle English rofreconstructed
Old Englishc. 450–1150hrōf2Wiktionary, Middle English rof‘roof’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500rof3Wiktionary, English ruffeas ruff(e)‘a saltwater fish, esp. of the family Sparidae’
Englishtodayruffe3Wiktionary, English ruffe

Linked words

through Old English hrōf ‘roof’

roofs, 1 more

through Middle English rof ‘a saltwater fish, esp. of the family Sparidae’

roof, 1 more

Today it means

noun Gymnocephalus cernua, a small Eurasian freshwater fish.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “ruffe”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *hrōfą, Middle English rof. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *krāwə- / ruffe

Shirt and support for this word

rufferuffe