A ruff is a distinctive collar of gathered or pleated fabric that stands up around the neck, creating a circular frame around the wearer's face. Think of it like a fancy, stiff doily worn as a collar. Ruffs were extremely fashionable in Europe during the 1500s and 1600s, especially among wealthy people who wanted to show off their status. Queen Elizabeth I of England wore enormous ruffs in her portraits, some so wide they looked almost like dinner plates circling her neck.

Making a ruff required yards of fine linen or lace, carefully pleated and starched to hold its shape. The larger and more elaborate the ruff, the more it cost and the more servants you needed to help maintain it. Eating while wearing a large ruff was genuinely difficult: you had to be careful not to spill food on the expensive fabric surrounding your face.

Today, we rarely see ruffs except in historical films, paintings, or theatrical costumes. The word ruff can also refer to a ring of feathers or fur around an animal's neck, like the thick mane around a lion's face or the feathered collar on certain birds. When someone describes a dog as having a ruff, they mean the animal has a thick collar of fur that stands out from its neck.