raffles

¹

[ raf-uhlz ]

noun

, (often initial capital letter)

1. a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like.

Raffles

²

[ raf-uhlz ]

noun

1. Sir Thomas Stamford, 1781–1826, English colonial administrator in the East Indies.

Raffles

/ ˈræfəlz /

noun

1. RafflesSir Thomas Stamford17811826MBritishPOLITICS: colonial administrator Sir Thomas Stamford . 1781–1826, British colonial administrator: founded Singapore (1819) as a station for the British East India Company

Word History and Origins

Origin of raffles¹

1925–30; after Raffles, hero of The Amateur Cracksman, by E. W. Hornung (1866–1921), English novelist

Example Sentences

Westminster Development Services is best known for redeveloping the site of the former Old War Office building on Whitehall as a Raffles hotel complex.

From BBC

Jockey aiming for National double after winning this year's Irish race on Easter Monday with Intense Raffles.

From BBC

The best spots are already taken by a Pullman, a Raffles, and other luxury hotels.

From Seattle Times

Two of the four specimens the scientists collected had no visible left eye, they report in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.

From Science Magazine

The bar is a requisite for first-timers in Havana; it's similar to going for a Singapore Sling at Long Bar at Raffles or a Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice.

From Salon