rif|fle

rif|fle¹ «RIHF uhl», noun, verb, -fled, -fling.

–n.

1. a shoal or other object in a stream causing a stretch of choppy water.

2. such a stretch of water; rapid.

3. = ripple. (Cf. ↑ripple)

4. the act of shuffling cards by bending the edges slightly.

–v.t., v.i.

1. to shuffle (cards) by bending the edges slightly, so that the two divisions of the deck slide into each other.

2. to leaf through the pages of (a book or magazine) quickly as by bending the edges slightly and slipping the pages quickly out from under the thumb: »

At home on East Street, he riffled through a 2-ft.-high stack of telegrams (Time).

3. to make (water) flow in riffles; form a riffle.

4. to move or play with a rippling motion; ripple: »

The harpist riffled the strings.

5. Figurative. to ruffle: »

He permitted a slight smile to riffle his façade (Harper's).

╂[American English, variant of ripple¹, or ruffle¹]

rif|fle² «RIHF uhl», noun.

1. an arrangement at the bottom of a sluice or the like, to catch and hold particles of a mineral, such as gold, platinum, or tin.

2. a slot or groove in such an arrangement.

╂[perhaps < riffle¹]