riffle

See also: Riffle

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɪfəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪfəl

Etymology 1

Possible alteration of ruffle, from Middle English ruffelen, akin to Low German ruffelen (“to crumple”).

Noun

riffle (plural riffles)

1. A swift, shallow part of a stream causing broken water.
   • 1903, James Alexander Henshall, Bass, Pike, Perch and other Game Fishes of America:

     They then proceeded below the milldam, where there was a strong riffle, with likely looking pools and eddies

   • 2017, Bill Barich, “On the Glories of Autumn”, in California Fly Fisher:

     The big trout feed aggressively and tend to lose their caution in the rifles.

   • 2020 April 8, Paul Stephen, “ECML dive-under drives divergence”, in Rail, page 43:

     [...] Brook Drain has now been diverted into a newly dug replacement river section [...]. It has been designed in conjunction with the Environment Agency to hold a much larger volume of water, in order to help with local flooding issues. It also features riffles (shallow sections of water) and side pools where aquatic wildlife can take shelter during storms.

2. A succession of small waves.
3. (mining) A trough or sluice having cleats, grooves, or steps across the bottom for holding quicksilver and catching particles of gold when auriferous earth is washed. Also one of the cleats, grooves or steps in such trough.
4. A quick skim through the pages of a book.
5. The act of shuffling cards; the sound made while shuffling cards.

Hyponyms

• white water

Related terms

• cheater riffle
• make the riffle
• riffle beetle
• riffle bug
• riffle shuffle

 

Translations

swift, shallow part of a stream causing broken water

• Bulgarian: бързей (bg) m (bǎrzej)
• Finnish: virtapaikka
• Sundanese: parung

succession of small waves

• Finnish: vire (fi), väre (fi), kare (fi)

mining: trough or sluice, or the cleats or grooves in it

• Bulgarian: корито (bg) (korito)
• Finnish: ränni (fi) (trough or sluice); rihla (fi) (one of the cleats or grooves)

quick skim through the pages of a book

• Bulgarian: прелистване n (prelistvane)
• Finnish: selaus

act of shuffling playing cards

• Bulgarian: разбъркване (bg) n (razbǎrkvane)
• Finnish: sekoittaminen (fi)
• Maori: riwhiriwhi

Verb

riffle (third-person singular simple present riffles, present participle riffling, simple past and past participle riffled)

1. (intransitive) To flow over a swift, shallow part of a stream.
2. (transitive) To ruffle with a rippling action.
3. (intransitive) To skim or flick through the pages of a book.
4. (transitive) To leaf through rapidly.
5. (transitive) To shuffle playing cards by separating the deck in two and sliding the thumbs along the edges of the cards to mix the two parts.
6. (transitive) To idly manipulate objects with the fingers.
7. (transitive) To prepare samples of material using a riffler.

Etymology 2

From Danish [Term?] (“a groove”).

Noun

riffle (plural riffles)

1. In seal engraving, a small metal disc at the end of a tool.

Derived terms

• riffler

Anagrams

• Riffel

German

Verb

riffle

1. inflection of riffeln:
   1. first-person singular present
   2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
   3. singular imperative