malkin

[ maw-kin, mawl-, mal- ]

/ ˈmɔ kɪn, ˈmɔl-, ˈmæl- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR malkin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun British Dialect.

an untidy woman; slattern.

a scarecrow, ragged puppet, or grotesque effigy.

a mop, especially one made from a bundle of rags and used to clean out a baker's oven.

a cat.

a hare.

Nearby words

malinterdigitation, malipiero, malipiero, gian francesco, maliseet, malison, malkin, mall, mall rat, mall walking, mallam, mallanders

Also mawkin.

Origin of malkin

1200–50; Middle English: literally, little Molly, equivalent to Mal, variant of Molly Mary + -kin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for malkin

The Malkin family, through Malkin Securities, owns 10 million square feet of real estate, including the Empire State Building.
A Candidate Shuns His Family Fortune|Samuel P. Jacobs|September 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Hannity and Malkin can still rant, but somewhere, Jack Murtha is watching, with a smile.
The Democrats' Big Gun|Peter Beinart|February 12, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Today Malkin says this anecdote— highlighted in her Wikipedia entry —has been largely mischaracterized by the mainstream media.
Michelle Malkin Has Feelings, Too|Lloyd Grove|September 22, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Malkin also likes to get out of her house and do shoe-leather reporting, albeit with ideological intent.
Michelle Malkin Has Feelings, Too|Lloyd Grove|September 22, 2009|DAILY BEAST

The recipient of occasional death threats, Malkin has twice felt the need to move her family to undisclosed locations.
Michelle Malkin Has Feelings, Too|Lloyd Grove|September 22, 2009|DAILY BEAST
"Go to Malkin Tower at midnight, and thou wilt see," replied the familiar, with a mocking laugh.
The Lancashire Witches|William Harrison Ainsworth
Lefevre and Malkin are men of first-rate mathematical abilities, and both of our college.
Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay|George Otto Trevelyan
The floods descended from the congregated sisterhood at Malkin tower.
Lancashire Folk-lore|John Harland
Its very violence, however, assured her it must soon cease, and she would then set out for Malkin Tower.
The Lancashire Witches|William Harrison Ainsworth
Malkin is a man of singular temper, judgment, and firmness of nerve.
Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay|George Otto Trevelyan

British Dictionary definitions for malkin

malkin

/ (ˈmɔːkɪn, ˈmɔːl-, ˈmæl-) /

noun

an archaic or dialect name for a cat 1 Compare grimalkin

a variant of mawkin

Word Origin for malkin

C13: diminutive of Maud

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

Word Origin and History for malkin

malkin

also mawkin, "a slattern; woman of the lower classes," late 13c., from fem. proper name Malkyn, a diminutive of Mault "Maud" (see Matilda). Also attested from c.1200 as the proper name of a female specter. Sense of "untidy woman" led to meaning "mop, bundle of rags on a stick" (used to clean ovens, artillery pieces, etc.), c.1400.

MALKINTRASH. One in dismal garb. ["Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence," London, 1811]

Attested as the name of a cat since 1670s (perhaps earlier as Grimalkin, 16c.); cf. Serbo-Croatian mačka "cat," originally a pet-name form of Maria. Also used in Scotland and northern England as the name of a hare (1724).

malkin

noun British Dialect.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of malkin

Examples from the Web for malkin

British Dictionary definitions for malkin

malkin

noun

Word Origin for malkin

Word Origin and History for malkin

malkin