ragamuffin

[rag-uh-muhf-in]

noun

1. a ragged, disreputable person; tatterdemalion.

2. a child in ragged, ill-fitting, dirty clothes.

   Synonyms: street arab, guttersnipe, urchin, waif

ragamuffin

/ ˈræɡəˌmʌfɪn /

noun

1. a ragged unkempt person, esp a child

2. another name for ragga

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragamuffin¹

1350–1400; Middle English Ragamoffyn, name of a demon in the poem Piers Plowman

Word History and Origins

Origin of ragamuffin¹

C14 Ragamoffyn , name of a demon in the poem Piers Plowman (1393); probably based on _rag ¹

Example Sentences

To some, he was a rollicking drifter in ragamuffin punk tatters.

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How could we still be cute ragamuffins, or sensationalized versions of Eagles fans past, if after NFC championship blowouts we run down Broad Street and climb light poles?

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She was the club-hopping ragamuffin, the Marilyn Monroe doppelganger, the dark-haired heretic, the platinum sex goddess.

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It was the late 1970s, punk was sliding into new wave, and Leonard and her friends, including the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, were, by Leonard’s account, “wild little ragamuffin children.”

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Despite the scorn of critics, paintings of ragamuffins with giant staring eyes, some holding a kitten or puppy, mostly signed just “Keane,” appeared in cocktail lounges and suburban homes across America.

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