There are multiple versions on the etymological origin of the term ruffian . It is generally accepted that it comes from ruffiano, an Italian word that would derive from Latin rufus. This Latin word, meanwhile, referred to the blond or red hair .
What we understand today as ruffian, in this way, would be linked to the custom of roman prostitutes to dye your hair and use wigs. A ruffian is one dedicated to the protection or at women's traffic that exercise the prostitution .
A ruffian, in this sense, would be a procurer . By extension, today the notion is often used to name a man dedicated to crime or lacking in ethics . For example: "I can't understand how people voted such a ruffian", “Do not join Ernesto, he is a ruffian”, “When the ruffian entered the house, the young man was paralyzed”.
In general, the subject dedicated to cheat, cheat or steal . The ruffian is considered as someone mean and infamous , which lacks honor . That's why accusing someone of ruffian is an offense or an aggression.
However, we cannot ignore that Rufián is also a surname. A good example of this is the figure of Gabriel Rufián Romero, who is a Spanish politician who has served as spokesman for the ERC Group (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) in the Congress of Deputies, who has gained great weight within his party in recent years and fighting hard for the independence of Catalonia.
The term ruffian appears in the title of different artistic works. “The ruffian on the stairs” is a work theatrical whose original title is “The ruffian on the stair” . It was written by Joe orton and released in 1964 . It revolves around the figure of a very peculiar marriage, composed of an old prostitute and a hired thug.
"The ruffian" , on the other hand, is an Argentine film that he directed Daniel Tinayre . This movie , which came to the halls in 1961 , was inspired by real events that occurred on French soil over the years '50 .
Carlos Estrada, Egle Martin or Oscar Rovito were the actors who led the cast of this film that tells how a man discovers that his wife is unfaithful to him with the driver. Therefore, he does not hesitate to kill him, which leads him to be sentenced to imprisonment. When he leaves prison, he decidedly goes to where he knows his wife is, who has totally lost her memory.
In the same way, we must not overlook the existence of the Italian film "Los rufianes", which premiered in 1965 and was directed by Robert Enrico. Lino Ventura, Bourvil or Marie Dubois were the protagonists of this story, a dramatic comedy that tells how a man inherits a sawmill that is about to go bankrupt, because of, among other things, ineffective operators. For different avatars of the destiny he hires prisoners who want to reintegrate, in addition to revenge on someone, and who will become the main allies of the owner.
