gamin

[ gam-in ]
See synonyms for gamin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a neglected boy left to run about the streets; street urchin.

Origin of gamin

1
From French, dating back to 1830–40, originally boy assisting a glassblower, young boy; of uncertain origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gamin in a sentence

  • "And fooled you," added Leon, making the gesture of gamins to express the action of picking pockets.

    Unconscious Comedians | Honore de Balzac
  • Tailed by scuffling gamins, the strange little procession moved quickly down the wynd and turned into the roaring Cowgate.

    Greyfriars Bobby | Eleanor Atkinson
  • But there was little severity in the sentence accorded to the white-faced youth who came just before the three gamins.

    The Incendiary | W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy
  • He was well known in the neighbourhood where he resided, and the street gamins cried Jack Ketch as he went along the street.

  • He used the catch-words of the street gamins of New York without any consciousness of incongruity.

    The Foolish Virgin | Thomas Dixon

British Dictionary definitions for gamin

gamin

/ (ˈɡæmɪn, French ɡamɛ̃) /


noun
  1. a street urchin; waif

Origin of gamin

1
from French

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012