toff: [19] Toff probably originated as an alteration of tuft [14], which was used from the 18th century as an Oxford University slang term for a ‘titled undergraduate’ (students who came from noble families wore a gold tassel or ‘tuft’ on their caps). Tuft itself was adapted from Old French tofe or toffe ‘tuft’, a word of Germanic origin. => tuft
toff (n.)
lower-class London slang for "stylish dresser, man of the smart set," 1851, said by OED to be probably an alteration of tuft, formerly an Oxford University term for a nobleman or gentleman-commoner (1755), in reference to the gold ornamental tassel worn on the caps of undergraduates at Oxford and Cambridge whose fathers were peers with votes in the House of Lords.
双语例句
1. Some said he was a toff in disguise.
有些人说他是个乔装的绅士.
来自辞典例句
2. He came out no end of a toff.
他打扮得怪漂亮地出来了.
来自互联网
英英释意
1. an elegantly dressed man (often with affected manners)