mudlark

[ muhd-lahrk ]

noun

1. Chiefly British. a person who gains a livelihood by searching for iron, coal, old ropes, etc., in mud or low tide.
2. Chiefly British Informal. a street urchin.
3. either of two black and white birds, Grallina cyanoleuca, of Australia, or G. bruijni, of New Guinea, that builds a large, mud nest.

verb (used without object)

1. to grub or play in mud.

mudlark

/ ˈmʌdˌlɑːk /

noun

1. slang.
   a street urchin
2. (formerly) one who made a living by picking up odds and ends in the mud of tidal rivers
3. slang.
   a racehorse that runs well on a wet or muddy course

Word History and Origins

Origin of mudlark¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; mud + lark ¹

Example Sentences

As a lad I slept with the rats, held horses, swept crossings and lived like a mudlark!

From Project Gutenberg

You wade along in this way step by step, like a mudlark at Portsmouth Hard, hoping gradually to regain the surface.

From Project Gutenberg

This was Captain Abersouth, formerly of the Mudlark—as good a seaman as ever sat on the taffrail reading a three volume novel.

From Project Gutenberg

So I shipped as mate on the Mudlark, bound from London to wherever the captain might think it expedient to sail.

From Project Gutenberg

On the voyage of which I write he had taken no cargo at all; he said it would only make the Mudlark heavy and slow.

From Project Gutenberg