Sir Thomas Stamford. 1781–1826, British colonial administrator: founded Singapore (1819) as a station for the British East India Company
raffles in American English
(ˈræfəlz)
noun
(often cap)
a gentlemanly burglar, amateur housebreaker, or the like
Word origin
[1925–30; after Raffles, hero of The Amateur Cracksman, by E. W. Hornung (1866–1921), English novelist]This word is first recorded in the period 1925–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: Nazi, dropout, gimmick, hot spot, runout
Raffles in American English
(ˈræfəlz)
noun
Sir Thomas Stamford 1781–1826, English colonial administrator in the East Indies